One Moment In Time
by Bonefan21
Summary: Bones just home from Peru. B/B romance/crime/family issues discussd B/B's new case involves 2 missing siblings. When a burned & partially decomposed body is found, the two must figure out if the remains are one of the two missing children, if so which one
1. Chapter 1

A/N I have edited this first chapter extensively in the hope that it now reads much better

A/N I have edited this first chapter extensively in the hope that it now reads much better. Please let me know what you all think those of you who may have read it months ago. I started this story clear back in May but got sidetracked writing my other two stories, Fire Breathing Dragon and Doggy Daycare B N'B Style. I hope as this story continues that everyone will enjoy it as much as you have my other two. :) Please don't forget to leave a comment. I have 3 new chapters complete and am about ¾ of the way through the fourth. So the more reviews I get the sooner I will post a new chapter. :)

Lisa

One Moment in Time

Chapter One

The fog was just beginning to lift from the Potomac River as Dr. Temperance Brennan started her morning jog through Rock Creek Park. The path she took today was littered with numerous spider webs clinging precariously from the trees and flowers, which glistened like spun silk in the early morning light. The Washington, DC skyline was filled with wispy clouds that were turning fluorescent pink, orange and blue.

Within a few weeks of moving to Washington, DC to begin her work at the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab she had discovered Rock Creek Park. She felt closer to her mother when she discovered the park was also home to a Planetarium. She had fond childhood memories of her Mother teaching her all about the stars and planets in the Solar system.

Temperance had come to the park today for a couple of reasons. She recently experienced two life altering events and she had been on an emotional roller coaster ever since.

She felt like she had a constant video playing inside her head that kept repeating the same scenes over and over again.

Namely the kiss she'd been blackmailed into sharing with Booth. After Caroline had shoved Booth at her they were so close she could smell the cologne he was wearing and could feel his breath on her face. Her entire body trembled waiting for the first touch of his lips.

Her whole body had suddenly flushed with heat, her heart rateincreased, and her stomach filled with butterflies. She felt the change in him as his breathing became labored; heopened his mouth and their tongues hadmet in an erotic dance as old as time. This kiss that was supposed to mean nothing to them suddenly took on a life of its own.

She suddenly realized that never before had she experienced a kiss as hot and passionate as this, not even with Sully. _Oh my God,_ she wondered, _where did that thought come from?_

Who knew that sharing one kiss with Booth would bring so many great things into her life? Booth had called her later while she was at the prison with her family. He had asked her to look out the window.

Her heart swelled with a feeling that felt a lot like love. She saw Booth and Parker waving next to a beautiful fully decorated Christmas tree. In the gently falling snow the lights on the tree twinkled brightly thanks to the battery from the SUV.

When she saw Haley and Emma squealing with delight she couldn't stop smiling. She knew this was going to be the _best _Christmas her family had ever had. The only thing that would have made it better was if her mother had still been alive to share this special time with all of them.

She couldn't stop herself from whispering into the phone to Booth that she loved her gift. On some inner level she knew Booth's sharing of the tree meant something really important. She wondered if she could let herself believe anymore that anyone could give her the love she has yearned for, for so many years.

The next day she boarded a plane and flew to Peru. National Geographic wanted her to search through a ceremonial burial site known as El Brujo-The Wizard, located on the north coast of Peru.

During recent excavations at the site an ancient mummy was unearthed. She was the first woman of the Moche people to be found buried with gold jewelry, which included necklaces, nose ornaments and a headdress. Some thought she had been a warrior queen.

She also appeared to have extensive tattoos, most likely created by using charcoal pigment inserted under the skin with a cactus spine. Temperance shuddered in horror when she was told how the tattoo was applied to the woman's body.

Even though Temperance normally would have been in seventh heaven having had such a unique opportunity to study something of such great importance all she could think about was Booth.

She wondered how the kiss they had shared at Christmas would affect their partnership in the coming days and weeks. What would it mean to the line he had told her you shouldn't cross with some people?

A few of her anthropologist friends even wondered aloud why she had come on this dig. She couldn't seem to concentrate on anything she was supposed to be doing. They began to joke it must be because of some man.

Had Angela been right that Booth had feelings for her? The incident with Kenton nearly cost her, her life. She had never been so glad to see Booth in her entire life, with the exception of being buried alive by the Gravedigger. Jack explained to her that what she had was faith. She insisted that it was not faith, that she had seen what Booth could do.

She had been keeping a secret from everyone she knew for a very long time. Before her parents had disappeared, she and Russ had attended Sunday school. She had been taught to believe in God and his ability to heal those who were sick or injured. For some time she had believed that there was a God, but all that changed the day her parents had disappeared without a trace.

She had prayed, begged and pleaded with God to help the police find her parents. None of those prayers had ever been answered.

Why, she wondered, did Booth seem to have such faith in God? She would never have his kind of faith and conviction in God again; however there had been times when she was watching Booth pray, when a tiny little voice in her head asked: _what if you did?_

Temperance wondered if she might be falling in love with her partner. Why did that thought scare her so much? What would she do if things didn't work out, or even worse if he was seriously injured or died in the line of duty? With all her abandonment issues, Temperance really didn't know if she was willing to take that risk.

A long time ago she had asked Angela if she thought she was missing out by not being more open socially. Angela had told her, yes by not allowing herself to feel her emotions and allowing others into her life she was going to miss out on having a real family of her own someday.

With a startled gasp Temperance came to a sudden halt. Her father had once told her to promise him, if she ever found someone she could trust to hang onto them. _Oh God, _She wondered_ had he been trying to tell her something? Had he meant Booth? _

She dropped to her knees. With shaking hands she wiped the sweat from her brow. _Why,_ she wondered, _do everyone Booth and I know seem to think there is something going on between us? _Now it appeared even her father seemed to think they were more than just partners.

She knew the two men had a grudging respect for each other. They seemed to have come to some kind of unspoken agreement. She couldn't understand how Booth could respect her father knowing he was a murderer.

She slowly pulled herself to her feet then began to stretch her now cramped legs. She brushed her hair back off her face with the back of her hand. With a loud sigh, she shook her head and thought, _I can't think about what's going on between us right now. _

She returned to the jogging path to finish her morning run. The sun was up now, and shining brightly. Most of the fog had evaporated.

As she continued on the path, her mind began to wander to other things. Temperance had retrieved her mail on Saturday and found a letter from her friend Molly. Molly and her certified cadaver dog, Tuti had worked with her on a number of cases in the past.

She thought Molly was just writing her usual Christmas greeting until she was halfway through her letter.

_Temperance, _

_I was asked to send the following invitation to you:_

_**The American Red Cross, the Delta Society, and the International K-9 Search & Rescue Dog Service organizations request the honor of your presence at a special black-tie Tribute/Fundraiser on the seven year Anniversary of Sept. 11.**_

_**This event will be held at the 911 Memorial Center in NYC on Sept. 11, 2008.**_

_**We hope that you will be willing to share with the audience, in a short speech detailing your team's personal experience working with the Search & Rescue & Therapy dog teams that were involved in helping to bring closure to all the families who lost loved ones on that day.**_

_**Since there are only a small number of dogs and trainers certified by the American Red Cross each year many teams must travel out of state -- occasionally even out of the country -- in order to perform their duties. Whatever profit is made is equally split between each organization. **_

_**The following Handler/Dog teams will be given a special honor at this event: Cindi Ellers and Tikva a 2 year old Keeshond, Pat Erickinson and Kate a 3 year old Golden Retriever, Pat and Bill Bartman and Uno a German Shepherd Dog who is one of only a handful of Certified Crisis Response dogs who was personally requested by the American Red Cross to come to Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.**_

_**We also hope to address our concerns about all the recent legislature and local bills being introduced trying to ban certain breeds of dogs. There will also be a discussion on the mandatory spay/neuter laws, new fees for a breeding license and what kind of affect it will have on any future Search & Rescue Dogs, Service Dogs, Police Dogs or just the average pet owner.**_

_Temperance I know this was a very emotional time for you and your forensic team. I'm hoping that you will be able to attend and give an account of your own experience on that day. _

_You may bring up to eight guests who would be willing to donate either time or money to our very special organizations. _

_Please RSVP by July 30, 2008 with the number of guests who will appear in your party. I look forward to hearing from you soon._

_Seasons Greetings_

_Molly and Tuti._

The letter had slowly fluttered to the floor as she finished reading. Immediately all those memories came flooding back.

_The day began just like any other workday at the Jeffersonian Medico-Legal Lab._

_Temperance remembered how, out of nowhere Dr. Jack Hodgins came in screaming about some tragic airline accident that had just happened in New York City at the World Trade Center. As Jack had turned the TV on, she and the rest of the squints, including their boss Dr. Goodman, had gathered around to watch the latest breaking news. They had watched in horror as the second plane crashed into the Trade Center. As the morning went on the news continued to be updated. Later the newscaster had said that it was no longer considered to be simply an accident, that someone or some group must have done it on purpose to attack our country. _

_It had just happened at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time. By 9:03 a.m. another plane would be deliberately flown into the second tower of the World Trade Center. At 9:43 a.m. the news would report that a third airliner had been hijacked and deliberately flown into the Pentagon. Before long the shocking news came that a fourth plane had also been hijacked with the intention of flying it into the capital building. By then passengers on board had already heard from family or friends what had been going on in NYC. _

_The passengers on Flight 93 decided to take matters into their own hands and tried to stop the hijackers from crashing their plane into the capital by storming the cockpit. Unfortunately, while doing this the plane had crashed in a farmer's field in Pennsylvania and all those on board had perished. _

_Nobody said a word for several minutes and then the whole team began talking at once. In all of the confusion none of them could even begin to hear or understand what anyone else was saying._

_Dr. Goodman's voice rang out above all the chaos and he said, "I think we need to start making some phone calls to see if we can be of any assistance in the coming hours and days as this is going to be one of the worst disasters our country has ever known." _

_Not long after the phones began to ring incessantly. After being on the phone for some time, Dr. Goodman returned to say that Dr. Brennan and the rest of the squints were being called in to help the local authorities begin to sort through all the rubble._

Temperance shook her head trying to banish these overwhelming thoughts from her mind. She was nearly at the end of her run. She used the remaining time to cool down.

While she was stretching she watched the Crocus and King Alfred Daffodils swaying in the light breeze. Occasionally she would see a White Tailed deer, a family of raccoons and once in a great while she might catch a glimpse of one of the few timid coyotes who wandered the woods.

She knew sooner or later that she needed to speak to Booth about what she was feeling, however she wanted to speak to her father first. Did he trust Booth enough to let him continue to be in her life? If so why? Did he know something more about her partner than she did herself?

She would also have to give Molly an answer soon. She truly wanted to help her friend get the donations they needed so all the dog teams could continue to do the work they did all over the world.

Without the dogs on these teams working on a daily basis with law enforcement defending American borders, looking for drugs, hidden explosives, and taking part in numerous branches of the military, America – 'The Land of The Free'-- would not be as secure a nation as it is today.

She was due at work in a little over an hour. Booth would be calling her to make sure she was okay, and right now she was not in the mood to deal with his alpha male tendencies.

Temperance watched as a very startled Angela, Cam, Jack and Zach looked up as she walked in and realized she must look as frazzled as she felt. She paused for just a moment and then continued hurriedly, walking toward her office.

"Sweetie, where have you been?" Angela said as Temperance came rushing through the lab.

"We were beginning to think we should call you to see if you were coming to work today. After what happened with that creep Kenton, then the Gravedigger, we were really worried!" Angela told herwith the sound of fear in her voice.

"I'm fine Angela, really. I just need to put my stuff in my office then I'll be right out." She paused in the doorway to her office. "Cam, I'm really sorry I'm late today, the traffic was unbelievable this morning. I promise I'll make the time up today."

"Are you okay, Dr. Brennan?" Cam asked with a concerned look.

The other three looked at each other, and shrugged.

Cam murmuredunder her breath to Angela, "Maybe you should go talk to her? She looks awful."

Angela nodded at Cam then quickly made her way to her best friend's office.

"Brennan, are you sure you're okay? You look like you haven't slept all weekend. Look at you, there are dark circles under your eyes and you're so pale." Angela said bluntly. "What happened since I talked to you on Saturday morning?"

"Ange, I'm sorry I can't talk about this now. I'm so far behind today. I'm sure Cam is annoyed that I wasn't here on time this morning. If I don't start soon, I'll never catch up on everything," Temperance said barely taking the time to breathe.

"Okay, sweetie." Angela gave her friend's hand a gentle squeeze**.** "Just remember I'm here whenever you're ready to tell me what's really going on."

Angela's pretty brown eyes were looking at her pleadingly.

Temperance sighed. "Ange, I got a letter in the mail this weekend from a good friend. Unfortunately, it brought up a bunch of bad memories. I promise, I'll talk to you about this later. You know I can never keep anything from you," Temperance laughed**_._**

"Just so you know, I'm going to hold you to that, Brennan," Angela said as they both made their way out of her office and back out to the lab platform.

"Bones! Hey, Bones are you here?" Special Agent Seeley Booth hollered.

"We have a case, chop, chop! Hurry up or your evidence is going to be compromised."

As Booth stepped up onto the lab platform four sets of eyes turned to him. As one they all said, "Dr. Brennan's in her office Booth."

Angela added, "She seems really upset. She received a letter from a friend over the weekend. I can't get her to talk about it. Maybe you can ask her about it later, Booth?"

"I'll try. We'll have plenty of time to talk on the drive over to the crime scene, since it's an hour away." With a quick nod goodbye Booth went off to his partner's office.

"Bones, are you in here?" he asked on his way through her office door.

"Yes, Booth I'm here. Why are you here? Do we have a new case?" Temperance looked up from her computer screen.

Booth came to a sudden stop in the doorway. Wow, he thought to himself, Angela was right; she did look a little down. There were dark smudges under her eyes. He decided he would wait until they were on the way to the crime scene before asking her about her weekend.

"The DC Sheriff's Department thinks they've found the remains of a missing child. Evan Sinclair, an eleven year old boy, and his fourteen year old sister Amanda Sinclair were reported missing from the local after school Boys and Girls Club three days ago." Booth told her in a somber voice.

"Exactly what condition was the body found in, Booth?" Temperance turned to look at her partner as he helped her put on her coat.

"Sheriff Williams says the remains they've discovered appear to be pretty badly decomposed. He put in a special request for our help to solve this case. He's hoping that we can find the other missing child."

"What do you mean he's 'hoping' we can find the other missing child? I don't understand? Didn't you say they were reported missing at the same time?" She continued to walk around the lab collecting equipment she thought she would need to aid her at the crime scene.

"So far, they've only found one body. Hopefully you or your squints can find enough evidence to help us locate the other child so we can find them alive. They were only reported missing seventy-two hours ago," he told her as they began to make their way off the lab platform on there way out to the parking lot.

Temperance raised her eyebrows, "Booth did you say the children have been missing for seventy-two hours? If so that isn't long enough for the body to be that decomposed. Are you sure the time line is correct?"

"I think so. According to Agent Mathews, it appears the body is partially burned. He thinks it has been mauled by some type of animal," Booth informed her as he opened the door to the SUV so she could get in. He walked around the front of the car and got into the drivers seat. Within minutes they were out of the parking lot and on the road to the scene.

Temperance and Booth had shared some more information about the upcoming case then suddenly Temperance became very quiet. She was gazing out of the passenger window. Eventually, Booth glanced over to see if she was awake. It was now completely dark outside.

Booth reached over to touch her arm as he asked, "Okay, Bones. What's wrong? Angela said you received something in the mail? Did something happen with your dad or Russ? I haven't heard anything from Caroline, so I assume they're okay. She would be one of the first one's to hear if something had happened at the prison."

It was several minutes before Temperance finally answered him, "No, my father and Russ are fine. Yes, Angela is right I did get something in the mail and it has put me in a rather somber mood."

She glanced over at him as he was driving and suddenly realized that he was the only one she would ever tell her story too.

"Do you remember me telling you when we worked on the Devon Marshall and Charlie Kent case at Arlington National Cemetery that I had been asked to go through the remains from the World Trade Center after the 911 attacks?"

Booth shot her a startled glance when she mentioned going through the remains of 911. "Do you really think I would have forgotten about that, Bones? I know that was before we met. I'm sure that was a very difficult time for you and the squints. It was very hard for me too. What made you ask me about your work during 911?"

With a soft sigh she turned to Booth and said, "Molly and her Search and Rescue Organization, want to know if I would like to speak at an upcoming Tribute to all the Canine Units that worked at the Trade Center site after the 911 attacks. You remember when I asked Molly to bring her dog Tuti to help us locate Eve Warren's body, don't you?"

With a laugh Booth said "How could I ever forget Molly and Tuti the drooling Mastiff! Yuck! I have never seen a dog slobber so much in my entire life. I was impressed when Tuti found the remains of Eve Warren even though she was buried under several feet of cement in Simon Rulz music studio."

"You're right. Tuti's pretty impressive. So are all the other Search and Rescue dogs that specialize in looking for missing persons or are therapy dogs. They take the dogs to hospitals or nursing homes to cheer up sick or elderly patients. Therapy dogs are also used when individuals or a group of people have been traumatized in a natural disaster, a victim of a crime or a freak accident."

Once again Temperance became quiet as she continued to look out the window.

"So, are you going to go and speak at this fundraiser?"

Temperance heaved another sigh as she looked over at her partner. It was hard to see his face now that it was dark, but she could hear the concern for her in his voice.

"I don't know yet, Booth. Rationally, it's the right thing to do. I just don't know."

"I was so overwhelmed with emotions when I was actually there, seeing first hand what was left of the buildings. How warm it still was, the smells emitting from the site, the looks on the firefighters faces as they were looking for anything to help them find their fallen comrades and all those people missing in what remained of the Twin Towers."

Booth reached over, and put a hand on her knee and gave her a soft squeeze. "I know how hard that must have been for you. I'm really sorry I didn't know you then."

"After all the years I have been doing this job, the things I've seen in Iraq, El Salvador, Rwanda, and Guatemala you would think that I would have handled 911 better," she told Booth with tears welling in her eyes.

"I would like to think you would have come to me to talk about your feelings if we had known each other at that time. I'm here now, so if you need to talk I'm ready to listen."

"Thanks, Booth. You have no idea what that means to me. You know that was the first time that I really wished I knew where my family was? I tried to call, Russ, but the number he had left on my answering machine wishing me a happy birthday was out of service by then."

"God Booth, I was so awful to him after our parents disappeared. I was so self-centered and wallowing in my own loss that I never gave Russ a chance to do his own grieving over losing our parents. I even told him I hated him a few times."

She was finding it exceedingly difficult to conceal her feelings from Booth these days. His next words confirmed to her that as per usual he seemed to be able to read her like an open book.

"Temperance, look at me." Booth whispered. "Remember what I told you about having the weight of the world on your shoulders? There was really nothing you could have done to change anything. You do understand that, don't you?"

Even in the dim light of the SUV, Booth could see the pain in her eyes. "Do you really think, even now that it was your fault that your parents were missing?"

"Booth, you know I hate psychology!" She said her voice full of exasperation at his question. "Rationally, I know all that you just said is true, but somehow getting my head and heart to figure that out seems to be causing me a real problem."

"I'm sure Russ would never hold that against you now. If he knows what's good for him he won't," he mumbled under his breath.

Temperance asked with a sharp look, "What?"

"Never mind it doesn't matter. As your big brother he was supposed to be the 'man of the house' so to speak. Hell, I was thirty when Parker was born; even then it was a struggle to know the correct way to raise a child. I can't imagine being nineteen years old and then suddenly becoming an instant father and mother to a fifteen-year-old girl."

"Bones, do you remember when I told you that I would never abandon Parker like your parents did to you?"

"Yes."

"I suppose Russ was unable to collect any insurance your parents may have paid for in the event something ever happened to them. I'm not sure if I had been in Russ's shoes if I would have tried to keep you with me either," Booth said with a note of surprise at his own words

"Bones, most teenage girls don't know how to ask the men in their lives for emotional support. Not that it matters, as most of the time we don't know what to say."

She murmured softly. "I wish Russ had known all I really wanted was for us to stay together. I wanted him to be the Marco to my Polo."

"I wish Russ could have been there to give me one of your famous 'Guy Hugs'.

Booth looked at her and in the lights of the passing cars he saw again the look he had seen on her face at Christmas. That lost little girl look that he would do anything to keep from seeing again.

"Aw Bones, is that a hint? Are you asking for a 'Guy Hug' from me?" he said with a laugh of his own.

"Yes." She whispered so softly he almost didn't hear her over the noise of the SUVs engine.

Booth pulled to the side of the road. With the engine humming quietly in the background he drew Bones across the front seat into his arms as she began to cry in earnest. He began rubbing her back and shoulders as he rocked her. He wondered how long it had been since Temperance Brennan had _really cried_.

"Shhh… Bones, I'm here and everything is going to be okay," Booth could feel every soft curve in her body and her breasts were now thrust into his chest causing him to feel things that he had no right to feel at this moment in time.

Suddenly, the headlights of a passing car softly illuminated the interior of the vehicle enabling him to see his partners tear streaked face. Her long flowing chestnut hair had begun to stick to her now flushed, tear stained cheeks.

"Booth," she whispered with a sob as her body continued to shake uncontrollably. "What is wrong with me? I don't have time to be sitting here with you bawling my eyes out like a two-year-old!" She said as she angrily wiped the tears from her eyes.

"One of those two missing children could still be alive! We can't sit here waiting for me to finish having a nervous breakdown!"

Shaking his head Booth privately thought to himself.

_Gee, Temperance I just don't know what could be wrong with you. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you have spent the better part of the last sixteen years keeping every person you know at arms length, so you don't have to feel a damn thing! If pushing them all away doesn't work, you run away. Whether you actually packed up and moved your home, or you went off on one of those damn anthropological research digs you love so much. The truth is, you're not all that different from those two missing children we should be looking for. I promise you Bones, I won't give up until you find your own way home._

"Booth, I'm so sorry. I can't believe what a mess I've made of your shirt."

Temperance couldn't remember feeling this safe and protected since she had been a child when her father had held her in his arms to comfort her. However, it was soon apparent that this was no longer a Guy Hug or even just a fatherly hug.

When she looked up into Booth's dark chocolate brown eyes, she realized they were filled with passion and that their lips were barely half an inch apart. Her heart was racing in anticipation, waiting for the first touch of his warm full sensuous lips on hers.

With a low moan he brought his head down to hers until their lips met softly in a touch as light as butterfly wings. His tongue slid gently over her top lip, and she opened her mouth with a soft moan. His tongue felt like molten silk as it brushed against hers and then swirled around her bottom and top lip once more.

"Seeley," she pleaded, "please don't stop." He turned his head into her neck, breathing in the scent of her perfume. He began to kiss the pulse fluttering rapidly at the base of her throat. Temperance's hands fluttered up to his cheeks as she pulled his head back to her lips for another soul searching kiss.

"Umm, Temperance, we have to stop now," Seeley groaned into her mouth. _My God what are you doing to me? I can't think straight with your lips on mine. Why the hell did I ever tell you that there was a line we shouldn't cross?_

"Bones, God I really don't want to stop kissing you either, but one of us has to keep their head in the game." He gently put his hands on her shoulders to push her away from him for a moment.

Temperance looked up at him with a glazed look in her luminous blue eyes. "What?" she said in confusion.

"Oh, nooooo…She quickly slid back across the seat, putting some distance between the two of them. "I'm so sorry Booth. I don't know what came over me."

"Well, that makes two of us. Since I was the idiot who said there is a line you shouldn't cross when you're working with some people, I'm the one who owes you an apology." _Yeah, that was real professional of you wasn't it, Seeley._

"Booth, I guess we should talk about this later. I know I won't be able to live with myself if we can't find those two missing children because I was having an emotional breakdown."

"You're right Bones, this isn't over. Promise me you won't shut me out before we have a chance to talk?" Booth asked as he pulled the SUV back out onto the highway.

"I promise I won't shut you out. Remember, we said we wouldn't give up on ourselves or each other." With a soft smile on her lips she reached over and took his right hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze.

TBC

Chapter two will be posted next and maybe three if I get enough reviews. :)


	2. Chapter 2

One Moment in Time

One Moment in Time

Chapter Two

When Booth pulled into the parking lot of Gambrill State Park it was swirling with activity. The usually peaceful park was lit up with flashing lights from numerous police and emergency vehicles. There were uniformed officers from each branch of the FBI, local and state police milling around at different check points.

Brennan and Booth were just getting out of the SUV when a young FBI agent approached them.

"Agent Booth?"

"Yes," Booth said as he shook hands with the young man, "this is my partner Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"I'm Agent Mathews my supervisor asked that I escort you to the crime scene." The young agent turned to shake Brennan's hand.

"I'll get my gear then you can lead the way."

"I hope you both brought your hiking boots as it's a long walk. We brought in some lights when it started getting dark, Dr. Brennan." Agent Mathews explained as he led them to the victim.

"So, how long will it take for us to hike our way in? Who found the body?" Booth asked as he pulled out his notebook so he could begin taking notes.

"Thank you for ensuring the crime scene will be well lit. It makes my job so much easier." Brennan said gratefully.

"It will take a good thirty minutes. The victim was discovered by a young married couple. They were out on an early spring walk when they literally stumbled over the body on Yellow Poplar Trail. The young woman, Annette Mitchelson, was pretty upset."

Booth interrupted before Agent Mathews could continue and asked, "Did they see anyone else on the trial or anyone acting strange? Did they notice if any vehicles looked out of place when they arrived?"

"I'm not sure, like I said she and her husband Richard were pretty rattled, what with finding the body and then the backpack…"

"What? Wait…a backpack? What did it look like? What brand? Booth demanded.

"I believe they said it was a navy blue backpack. It's my understanding they told the Park Ranger they didn't see anyone else on the trail before they discovered the body. You'll have to wait to speak to the Mitchelson's. We sent them down to the Ranger station to wait. We told them that they couldn't leave until they gave an official statement."

Brennan grabbed Agent Mathews arm causing him to turn and look at her. "Please tell me that no one has touched the backpack or anything else. I can't have any evidence getting contaminated."

"No, no I personally made sure no one else went near the victim. We put up the crime scene tape. I also had several people standing guard while another agent began taking photos before it got dark. We'll send those directly to your lab, Dr. Brennan."

Brennan released the agents arm, her expression full of surprise, "I must say I'm really impressed, Agent Mathews."

The young man flushed in embarrassment before mumbling, "Your reputation preceded you. I wanted to make sure I remained on your good side."

Booth glanced over at Agent Mathews with an irritated look. _What a suck up! Is he really trying to hit on my partner right under my nose?_

Agent Mathews continued leading them up the path. The trail turned out to be a narrow, rocky path that was bordered on both sides by thick underbrush and Yellow poplar trees which happened to be its namesake. "I forgot to mention you should be on the lookout for snakes."

Brennan and Booth jumped in shock. They looked at each other before saying, "Snakes! There are snakes out here?"

"Oh, yeah the park is known for having both Timber rattlers and Northern Copperheads. Not to mention there are also black bear and coyotes in abundance."

Brennan shuddered in revulsion. Booth, who was usually fearless, began looking around expecting one of the forest creatures to jump out at any moment. Brennan surreptitiously moved closer to Booth, her eyes now glued to the path in front of her looking for snakes.

Her partner looked down at her as she brushed against his arm. _Oh right, one minute you are all about the snake, the next your freaking out. _ Booth smiled to himself then reached out and took her hand as they continued up the rocky, wet slippery trail. He was surprised that she didn't tell him she could take care of herself, which was her usual response, when he offered his support in a protective fashion.

A short time later they arrived at the crime scene. After following the very narrow trail for the last thirty minutes, it was a bit of a shock to see that they were now in a fairly large area. This part of the trail had widened into a naturally smaller green space with lots of new spring grass. Thanks to all the lights it was easy to see the natural rock shelf jutting out over the valley below. Interspersed between the new grass shoots were several dirt and rocky areas.

As Agent Mathews had promised the entire area was secure. Brennan ducked under the yellow tape and gingerly made her way over to the body.

It was evident that this had been a very violent scene; the air was permeated with the smell of burned flesh and human hair. The victim appeared to have burns that covered nearly eighty to ninety percent of his body.

The victim's facial features were no longer visible the skin on the arms and legs was charred black from the fire. The torso and internal organs were charred and the bones blackened from the flames. His hair was singed, and one leg bone had been pulled off and dragged a short distance away from the body.

As Brennan bent down for a closer look she informed Booth, "Agent Mathews was correct, I can see evidence of what look like animal bite marks."

"What do you think? Is this Evan Sinclair?" Booth asked.

"I won't know for certain until we do the DNA tests. The remains look to be male, probably early to late teens. I think he might have hit his head on this rock." She bent down for a closer look when she realized that there was a good amount of blood spilled on the ground and the rock under the victims head.

"Bones, please tell me that our victim was dead before they caught his body on fire." Booth pleaded his hands over his mouth to cover up the smell of burnt flesh. His stomach was starting to get a little queasy.

I'll know more when we can get a better view of the body and can compare the remains with our missing boy's dental and other medical records."

"Do you smell gas?" she asked as she sniffed the remains.

"Yes. What's that? Booth asked as he pointed over her right shoulder.

Brennan walked towards the trees and low lying underbrush. What they thought might have been a gas can turned out to be the blue backpack. She picked it up by the shoulder strap with one finger, her surgical white gloves preventing her from contaminating the backpack with her fingerprints or DNA. "I need an evidence bag, Booth."

The backpack also smelled of gas, which surprised them, as it should have been burned along with the body, but it showed no evidence of ever being burned. "Let's look through the backpack before you put it in your evidence bag. I want to see if there's anything in it that can tie it to our missing children."

Brennan slowly opened the zipper of the main part of the backpack. Inside they found what looked like children's school books, spiral notebooks and several three ring binders. Brennan pulled out one of the spiral notebooks and opened it.

What they saw shocked them to the core. At the top of the page were the words Evan Sinclair, assignment six. Brennan was the first to notice that it was for his science class. Even more shocking to them after they had flipped through several pages were the following words on the back of one page:

_If you are reading this I'm probably dead along with my sister Amanda. I don't have much time before he comes back. Please, whoever finds this note make sure you ask Ryan Wilson, Matt Reynolds, and Sally Daniels what happened the day my sister Amanda and I disappeared. They saw everything._

"Oh noooo…I'm so sorry, Booth." Brennan began as she reached out to touch her partner in an effort to console him. She knew how hard these cases were on him. It was hard on everyone. No one can work a case like this and not be affected.

Booth jerked back from her touch and as he spun away from her he shouted angrily, "Son of a b…" He began to curse as he paced back and forth in anger and frustration. "Why?! What kind of bastard does this? What did he ever do to him!?"

Booth walked to the nearest tree and grabbed the trunk with both hands, his body was shaking in anger and he breathed in deeply in an effort to control his emotions. He was just getting ready to punch his fist into the tree when Brennan grabbed him by the arm and spun him around to face her.

"Booth, please calm down. I know, right now all the evidence is pointing to the fact that this is probably Evan's remains."

Brennan reached up and pulled Booth's face closer to hers, "Look at me. I'll make you a promise, if the remains turn out to be Evan's we will not stop until we find Amanda. I swear to you on my mother's grave, we will find whoever is responsible for this."

The two of them leaned in until their foreheads were touching. Somehow, they were always able to bring one another back from the brink of despair, with only a few simple words or an occasional physical touch.

"I'll have Jack do some tests to see if he can find out who manufactured the gas that was used as an accelerant."

"I think our victim's put up quite a struggle. Look at how the dirt and gravel is scuffed up and all the shoe prints." Brennan ducked back inside the crime scene tape then began a slow walk around the area. She noticed there were traces of blood on the ground. Soon she discovered a large tree branch that had dried blood on one end.

Brennan noticed a shiny gold object partially buried in the scuffed dirt. "Booth, give me your flashlight."

"Why did you find something?" he asked as he handed her his flashlight.

She turned back to the dirt behind her then bent down and gently began to pull the soil away from the shining object.

"Booth, I remember reading in the case file that Amanda had been wearing a hairclip that was adorned with white pearls when she was reported missing." She held out the hair clip for his inspection.

Booth's face showed his anguish. There was no doubt that the hair clip Brennan held in her hands was an exact replica of the one Amanda had been wearing when she was first reported missing. His heart ached knowing he was going to have to tell the parents that not only was their son dead but their daughter was still missing.

"You think Amanda was here when Evan was killed?"

"Yes, but I'm worried that we aren't seeing any other signs that she's still here. I think whoever did this still has her with him. This means that there's…"

Booth interrupted her before she could finish, "A chance that she's still alive? Do you think they're still here?"

"I'd say there's a really good probability that Amanda is still alive. I can see, even though the shoe prints are a bit scuffed, that there were at least three people here. It looks like Evan and Amanda put up one heck of a fight."

"We should probably send some of the others out on the trail to see if they can locate Amanda and our suspect." Booth said as he turned to call Agent Mathews over to him.

Brennan quickly ducked back under the crime scene tape and grabbed Booth's arm. "No! Don't send anyone out yet! I'd like to call Molly first. Let's see if she can send one of her Search and Rescue dog teams out here, before we have several hundred people walking around covering up Amanda's trail."

"You're right. While you're calling Molly, I'll head back down to the ranger station and question Richard and Annette Mitchelson."

"I'll call you after I've talked to Molly. Your forensic team can take the victim back to the Jeffersonian, along with all the other evidence. I can't do anymore from here."

Booth slowly made his way back down the trail to the ranger station. It was now nearly eight o'clock at night. He knew his two witnesses would be anxious to get home.

Booth opened the door of the ranger station and saw the young couple in question. Richard and Annette Mitchelson looked to be in there very early twenties_. Of all the people who could have found their victim in this condition why did it have to be this innocent young couple? _Sometimes he really disliked his job, especially when young children were involved in a murder and kidnapping case.

He really hoped that the Mitchelson's had information that could help him put a name to their suspect and find a way to bring Amanda Sinclair home safe.

They were sitting on a small couch next to a warm glowing fire in the large flagstone fireplace. Annette Mitchelson was crying softly on her husbands shoulder, both of them jumped when Booth walked into the room.

Two sets of fear filled eyes greeted him as he reached out a hand to Richard and introduced himself to the young couple. "I'm FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth. I'm sorry we had to meet under these circumstances. I understand that you two found the victims body, is that correct?"

"Yes, on the Yellow Poplar Trail. Is it true that it might be that young boy Evan Sinclair?" Richard asked his shoulders slumped in despair.

"I'm really sorry, but right now I'm not at liberty to say one way or the other. I'm hoping that you two can help me find some evidence to aid us in the case of these two missing children."

"Did either of you notice any other cars in the parking lot when you arrived today? Do you remember what time it was when you first got here? Did you see anyone out of the ordinary when you were hiking before you found the victim?

Annette Mitchelson sat up and began wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked at her husband before answering, "We didn't see anyone, Agent Booth. I really wish that we had. I feel so helpless right now. How could someone do something like that to another human being?" Annette asked with a sob.

Booth heaved a heartfelt sigh. "I wish I knew the answer to that question."

"I keep hoping that this is only a nightmare and when I wake up none of this will have happened."

Richard patted his wife's hand trying to console her. "When we first arrived late this afternoon, there were no other cars in the lot. I remember thinking how odd, that on such a nice day, we would be the only ones here."

"Do you remember anything that struck you as odd or out of place just before you both discovered the victim?"

Richard and Annette made eye contact for a moment as both began to shake their heads no. "I really wish we could be of more help to you, Agent Booth." Richard was speaking so softly, Booth was not even sure he had spoken.

"Wait," Annette gasped breathlessly. "Richard, didn't you tell me this morning that Gambrill State Park is actually one big park that also includes Cunningham Falls State Park and Catoctin Mountain Park?"

"Yes. This is the first time we've ever visited this park. I can't believe that we forgot that fact. Agent Booth, it's highly possible that whoever is responsible for killing and maiming the body we found today could have entered the park from either of those parks."

"You're probably right; I'll have to let my partner know that we're going to need more than one Search and Rescue Dog team. We weren't expecting to have to search that much ground. I doubt that we'll be able to round everyone up before first light to begin searching for Amanda." Booth murmured to himself as he pulled out his phone and speed dialed Brennan.

As he waited for her to answer he held out his business card, "If either of you remember anything at all, please call me at this number, day or night. It's possible you might have helped us to save someone. I have to go now."

"No problem. We were glad to help. We only wish we could have done more." Richard said as he shook Booth's hand.

"If it's possible, could you let us know if you find Amanda alive?" Annette pleaded.

"I can't make that kind of promise."

"I understand, I never should have asked that of you. It's just I feel so close to her now."

"Bones." Booth placed his hand over the phones mouthpiece and mouthed, "I have to go, thank you again." Richard and Annette Mitchelson nodded in understanding.

"Yes, Booth, can you hear me?" Brennan asked.

'Sorry. Did you get in touch with Molly yet about those Search and Rescue dogs? Good, I have some new information on where to begin our search. I think its going to require more than just one team because…

The wind had picked up now and was rustling the leaves in the trees, making it nearly impossible for the dark figure hugging the tree line, to hear what was being said amongst the emergency personnel. However, when there was a pause in the wind it was possible to pick up a word or phrase here and there.

After observing for some time with the special night vision goggles that had been purchased for just such an occasion, the dark figure had picked up the words, _Did you hear that the infamous Dr. Temperance Brennan has been called in along with her partner Special Agent Seeley Booth? Word is they are the best crime fighting team in the FBI._

The figure hiding in the darkness snorted and rolled his eyes. _Right, they just think they're the best. _They've never seen the likes of me though. His plan had been put into action months ago, when that beautiful young creature had first caught his eye.

Three days ago everything had been going according to plan until he'd miscalculated when the other children would be leaving their afterschool activities. Thank God that he had a contingency plan to fall back on. However, having all of these people already looking for him had not been on his agenda.

He was beginning to get a little annoyed as they were occupying his valuable time, time that he should be spending with _her_. He had been waiting long enough already. Now he had to decide if he would once again have to change his course of action.

He had to admit though this was a new thrill he had never experienced before, watching them looking for him. This was nearly as much fun as what he would have later with her. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should wait here a little longer and see just how well this Dr. Temperance Brennan and Special Agent Seeley Booth were at their jobs.

He had never thought of watching those who were trying to catch him before. Besides, by watching them he would get a better feel for how they went about tracking someone like him. It felt a little unfamiliar to him but it also was giving him an adrenalin rush he had never experienced before.

Soon he would have to move so he would have a better view of his handiwork before they took everything away. He had just seen Agent Booth leaving the Ranger station. It now appeared he was now heading back up the trail, probably to speak to his partner.

He turned around then began to make his way slowly and quietly back the way he had come. It was times like this that his night vision came in so handy. He could easily see where he was going, keep track of all the officers moving around and look out for any of the parks nocturnal animals. After all he had risked getting to this point; he didn't plan on running into that kind of problem if he could help it.

With all of the gear he was wearing he was beginning to sweat. He wiped his hand over his forehead to keep it from dripping down into his eyes. Luckily all those years of survival training he had done as a teenager were now coming in mighty handy.

During his search for the perfect place for his latest victim, he had spent months exploring this entire area, looking not only along each trail but in areas that would be considered off the beaten path to most people. As a result he now had an area that would give him a bird's eye view of the two people who were in charge of trying to capture him.

After fifteen minutes of struggling his way through the forests thick underbrush, he finally made his way to a small clearing, where he could see the crime scene. It was no longer necessary for him to use his night vision. Actually, the lights were illuminating his earlier handiwork so brightly, that looking through the night vision goggles nearly blinded him. He ripped them off of his face, as he began cursing under his breath and rubbing his eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear anything that was being said this time as he had been able to when he was watching everyone down in the parking lot earlier.

When he could finally see again he sucked in his breath in shock. _Good God, the woman was gorgeous! _Even without her hair down, wearing that ridiculous lab coat and those white surgical gloves anyone could see she was one of a kind. He continued to watch as she directed the other field agents on what to pick up and take away with them.

He had always preferred them young, pure, innocent, virginal and instantly submissive to his every wish. He thrived on the power he held over his _special ones _as he always referred to them. So what was it about this Dr. Temperance Brennan that had made him so enamored of her? _Where the hell did that come from?_ You've already made your choice. Maybe later he would find the time to make direct contact with Dr. Brennan. He was looking forward to matching wits with her brilliant mind. He was sure that he was smarter than her or her partner Special Agent Seeley Booth.

He began to get a little concerned about whether or not he had left anything behind that might enable them to catch him, when he realized they were even sifting through the dirt, and in some instances putting some of it in plastic evidence bags. He wondered _why in the hell anyone would cart off a bunch of dirt. _ What good could a bunch of dirt do? He was quite certain he hadn't dropped anything that could be used to find him.

He shook his head in frustration as he glanced at his watch. He had been gone for nearly two hours; it was time he got back to her, as he wanted to be there when she woke up. That was one of the most powerful moments he had over his victims, when they first realized that he was the one in control of their destiny and not them. After one final look at Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth he turned and headed back to her.

TBC

A/N Please let me know what you all think so far? Are they all in character? Is the plotline interesting, the story flowing along easily, is it suspenseful enough etc.? Have a favorite line or scene?


	3. Chapter 3

One Moment in Time

One Moment in Time

Chapter Three

Brennan's friend Molly had returned her phone call then informed them that she had heard back from three of her Search and Rescue dog teams. Unfortunately, they wouldn't arrive at the crime scene until six a.m. due to the amount of travel time for each of them. Molly asked that everyone who had access to the crime scene be present in the morning. The Search and Rescue team would explain why once they arrived. Brennan and Booth agreed to meet them at Gambrill State Park at daybreak, to debrief them on the case, before each of them began searching for Amanda and her captor.

In the meantime they headed back to the Jeffersonian where Booth took advantage of the couch in Brennan's office to catch a few hours of much needed sleep while he waited for the rest of the team to examine the victim's remains. When they were done they would come and get him to discuss the evidence they had found.

Dr. Lance Sweets had been called in so he could go through the file that they had on Evan and Amanda Sinclair's disappearance. When the rest of the team was through examining the body he would study their findings before supplying Booth and Brennan with a profile on their suspect.

Several hours had passed during which time Brennan and Zach had x-rayed and cleaned the victim's bones after Dr. Saryon had examined the body. In the meantime Jack had collected his particulates for a more detailed examination. Angela had been given the victims skull tissue depth markers so she could do a facial reconstruction and once all the data had been compiled she would use the Angelator to recreate the crime scene. When everyone had gathered all the evidence they agreed to meet on the platform later to compare their findings.

Brennan walked slowly to her office, on her way to awaken Booth, so she and the team could share the results of their findings with him. She always dreaded this part of her job, especially when the victim's were children. It was always harder for Booth, especially since he was the only one of the team so far to have children. He always had a hard time separating his feelings about his son, Parker, from their current victim.

"Booth," she whispered quietly, as she bent down to tap him on the shoulder. She tried not to startle him, as occasionally when she or one of the others had tried to awaken him, he had reacted violently as a result of his former Army days, when he always had to be on high alert, to ensure he and his other Army buddies survived their tours of duty. She hated to wake him as he looked like he was sleeping peacefully tonight with no sign of any unpleasant dreams. Brennan shook his shoulder a little harder.

"What…Bones…wait I'm up. I take it you've found something?" he asked still groggy from his nap.

"Yes, we're ready to share our findings now. Dr. Sweets has a suspect profile ready to share with us. Actually, I think he's more excited about sharing his findings than the rest of us."

Booth tossed the blanket off, sat up and rubbed the last of the sleep from his eyes. "Let's go then so we can get this over with."

As they both returned to the lab platform, after scanning their security badges, Dr. Zach Addy began to rattle off his conclusions. "Dr. Brennan, Booth, it appears that the victim is male, due both to the posterior ramus of the mandible and the sciatic notch in the pelvis which is narrower in the male than in the female. I examined the x-rays, which clearly show the growth plates in all the long bones of both his legs and arms have not yet closed, indicating that the victim is under the age of twenty-five. I think that he is probably closer to preteen, due to the small amount of closure in the growth plates."

Zach paused for a moment to let this news sink in before continuing with his findings. "It appears that the victim did not die due to being burned to death. During my examination, I found that he died from a subdural bleed, due to a blow to the back of the head. There were clear signs of internal bleeding into the skull fracture."

Booth demanded, "You know for certain he was dead before he was burned? How is that possible?"

Both Zach and Brennan said together, "We know for certain because dead people _don't _bleed. If he was dead before he was hit in the head there would be no signs of bleeding in the skull."

"Well, I guess we can be thankful for that at least," Booth sighed in resignation. "So what caused the blow to the back of the head?"

"Zach, are you ready to share your findings of the blood stains on the tree branch we found at the crime scene?"

"Yes, I compared the head wound to the size and shape of the tree branch and I'm positive that it was used to inflict the fatal blow. I also examined the victims x-rays and found that the victim and Evan Sinclair's medical records showed the exact same single-transverse fracture of the right femur leg bone."

Booth rolled his eyes before demanding "Bones _please,_ speak in _English!"_

Brennan added, "A single-transverse fracture means that it was a single long break/fracture that occurs across the long axis of the bone." She pointed at the x-rays to show Booth and the rest of the team what they were looking at.

"The amount of bone callusing that occurred as the bone healed, is correct for the amount of time that has passed, since Evan broke his leg while skate boarding two years ago. Do you concur, Dr. Brennan?" Zach asked.

"Yes."

"Dr. Saroyan added, "I matched the DNA from the blood on the branch to the sample of Evan's DNA that his parents supplied. It was a match. So, we can safely say that this is Evan Sinclair."

"Did you find anything else?"

"Yes," Cam glanced over at Booth before adding, "I think that everyone needs to know that Evan Sinclair put up quite a fight with our suspect before he died. I found evidence of deep tissue bruising on his arms and legs that are conclusive with injuries one would sustain with normal defensive moves. I also discovered that he had some bruising of his phalanges on both hands. I would say he tried to defend himself from the suspect when he was hitting him with the tree branch."

"Your probably correct Cam, if the evidence Brennan and I found at the crime scene is any indication. We found a hair clip that belonged to Amanda." Booth informed the group.

"Hodgin's were you able to find any particulates that will aid us in finding how Evan's body was burned and by whom?" Cam asked.

"Since the body was burned there was not much there in the way of insect activity. However, I did find that the suspect used gasoline as an accelerant. I also found a partial matchbook with one partially used and burned match that was probably used to start the body on fire."

Booth closed his eyes, shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "This helps us how?"

"Just so you know, it's possible that Angela might be able to piece together what was written on the matchbook and where it came from. I'm also working on finding what kind of chemical mixture went into making the gasoline that was used. It's possible I will be able to figure out what area that particular brand came from."

Jack continued to explain in terms that everyone would understand. "I'm not sure if you are aware of the fact that the heads of matches are made up of _diatoms_, which are single-celled organisms found in the kind of earth used in match production. The shells of these tiny creatures contain _silica_, a tough compound that survives being burned in a fire. The great thing about this small seemingly insignificant detail is the fact that different manufactures use different materials, so different _diatom_ species show up in their matches."

Booth once again interrupted Jack, "How is this going to help us solve the case?"

"Let me finish, Booth, because each species of _diatom_ has a unique shell structure, indentifying the shell remnants often identifies the brand of matches used by the arsonist. No, that alone is probably not going to lead you directly to the suspect but it's a start. Like I've told all of you before, I'm all about the bugs and dirt, if you bring me more of that type of evidence I can help you break this case wide open." Jack complained with obvious frustration and irritation.

"Okay people let's focus on the case, not on knocking each others work ethics." Cam instructed.

"Well, on that note let me add my two cents worth," Angela began. "Since we've already established the fact that Evan Sinclair is the victim, my facial reconstruction is not of that much help, but never the less here it is."

Everyone nodded solemnly when Evan's photo appeared in the Angelator. Seeing the young mans innocent, smiling face brought everyone back to the task at hand.

"I took the initiative and added in all of the photos of the crime scene that were taken by the FBI before we removed Evan's remains to the Jeffersonian. I included the measurements and areas that Evan was injured and added in his height to see if I could get an idea of how tall our suspect would have to be to have inflicted the wounds that Evan suffered."

As Angela talked she was rapidly typing on her keypad which started the Angelator so that everyone could see the entire crime scene. You could clearly see where Evan's body was found, how it looked before he was beaten, when he succumbed to the fatal blow and how the fire was most likely started. Angela had also added in Amanda's body in an effort to more realistically show what the evidence told them most likely occurred.

"Since both Brennan and Zach forgot to add that the bite marks that were discovered on Evan's left leg were indeed inflicted by an animal, a black bear to be exact. According to Zach, the teeth marks were too big to have been made by a coyote, which also roam in the park."

"That's correct, Angela, thanks for reminding us that we left out that information." Zach said.

"I'm thinking that your suspect is going to be around six foot tall, maybe more maybe less. If I had a clearer foot print from the scene I might have been able to give you a more accurate height."

Angela went on talking and adding more commands to the Angelator, which had brought the scene to life for everyone, so much so that no one spoke for several minutes. It always seemed to affect everyone more emotionally when they had a visual of the crime than it did when they just read the information from the victim's file.

Dr. Sweets looked around at all of the downtrodden faces before saying, "I guess this is where my expertise comes in. I believe I have some information that, Booth, will be able to appreciate. I hope to add enough information that will enable us to begin looking through the FBI's database for a likely suspect."

Booth leaned forward with more interest than he had shown in the last half hour. "So let's hear it, Sweets."

After looking over the initial missing person reports, listening to everyone's findings and using my violent criminal profiling system I have compiled the following profile of the most likely suspect."

Sweets paused savoring his moment of glory as he watched the rapt faces of his now totally engrossed audience. Everyone was literally sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting with bated breath for him to continue.

"We know that the victims were young, white teenagers and we know that usually your serial kidnapper or sexual offender stays within his own racial lines. We should concentrate on looking for a white male, between the ages of twenty-eight and thirty-five years of age, who is close to six feet tall according to Angela's calculations."

Booth had pulled out his notebook to begin writing down the information that Sweets was sharing with the team. He paused with his pen in midair waiting expectantly for Sweets to continue.

"You should also narrow your search for someone who meets the following criteria. This person appears to be very well organized; at least he was until he ended up with two victims."

"Sweet's, this is something I can actually use!" Booth praised the young psychiatrist as he slapped him on the shoulder.

"Hang on, dude! I'm not done yet. I believe that he is well educated, has a good job, is married or possibly in a serious relationship. He's probably done this before, which means he lives in close proximity to where the children were first abducted. He appears able to adapt on short notice and is not easily panicked when his original plans have to be changed."

"I think it's highly likely that he spent some time in the military and left the service with an honorable discharge."

"Wait…what…wait a minute, next you'll be telling me that serving his country sent him off the deep end and now he is a serial murderer!?" Booth shouted angrily.

"Agent Booth, calm down. You're putting words in my mouth. That's not what I'm saying at all."

'Well, it sure sounded to me like that was where you were heading…"

"No all I'm saying is that if we add all the information we have at this point in time to the NCAVC, VICAP and PROFILER we might be able to find a match to our current suspect."

Sweet's suddenly noticed that Jack and Angela were looking at him with a big question mark hanging over their heads. "Right, I forgot not all of you know what all those initials stand for."

"NCAVC stands for National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. It's one of the databases maintained by law enforcement personnel to add information about every violent crime that is committed in the country. It later led to the development of the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) and PROFILER, which maintain the profiles of all known serial murderers."

"You're certain that the person we should be looking for is ex-military? Do people like him really search that close to home for their victims? Wouldn't that make it more likely for them to be caught?" Booth asked.

"I've read that it makes them feel powerful, like they're in control. They think they're smarter than the law enforcement personnel. The more times they get away without being caught, the bolder they become." Zach explained.

"Exactly Zach." Sweets said. For once it appeared that his co-workers had stopped thinking of him as a twelve year old, and were finally accepting the fact that he did have several degrees in psychiatry. For the first time he felt confident in sharing his knowledge of the criminal mind without fear that Agent Booth or the others would start to make fun of him.

"Most are driven by some type of fantasy, which they plan and prepare for by rehearsing what they will do, from picking their victims to planning the abduction, their sexual fantasies or killing the victim. They usually bring the equipment they need to achieve these goals. Most already have a plan to hide or dispose of the body. Many have a preselected dumpsite which is miles from their home."

"You were able to deduce all of that from the small amount of evidence we have so far?" Angela asked, obviously impressed.

"Yes, which is why I would like to add what we do know, to the databases I mentioned earlier. If he has committed a crime with a similar MO, it should help us narrow our search area."

"If you think it will help, then by all means start adding the info we have to the database." Booth told Sweets.

"Agent Booth, I would like to speak to Evan and Amanda's parents to learn more about the children."

"I'd prefer you didn't speak to them yet, Sweets."

"Why not?" he asked in a huff.

"Bones and I haven't had time to inform them that their son has been confirmed dead, or that Amanda is still missing. We feel there is a good chance she's still alive. We need something of, Amanda's, for the Search and Rescue dogs to use as a scent marker, so they can start searching for her."

"How long before I can speak with them?"

"We're leaving as soon as we're through here. I'll try and get them to speak to you once we have the search for Amanda underway. There won't be much they can do while the search is going on. The fewer people at the scene mean the less distraction for the dogs."

"The sooner I can speak to them the better. I'm looking for information on the children's friends, family, and any places they frequented on a regular basis. I might be able to find a person of interest through this type of information. I realize they are going to be highly emotional, but I'm a trained psychiatrist. I'm sure I can handle them." Sweets informed Booth.

"I'll let you know later today when they can meet with you. We still need to speak to Evan and Amanda's friends. It was to late last night by the time we discovered that Evan was our victim that we decided to wait until sometime today to speak with them. I saw no reason to wake them from their last night of restful sleep with the news their friend had died and we still don't know where his sister is or if she is still alive."

"I understand. It's your call, just let me know when."

"Keep your phone on. Let's go Bones. I'm not looking forward to this, but it needs to be done."

TBC

A/N Please don't forget to read then leave a review. Would love to know what everyone thinks so far of my first case fic story?


	4. Chapter 4

One Moment in Time

One Moment in Time

Chapter Four

Booth and Brennan arrived at Mark and Erica Sinclair's ranch style home located a few miles outside of DC. Booth parked along the curb then turned the ignition off. For several minutes neither of them said a word, the silence spoke volumes. As Brennan once said, telling the parents their child is dead is exceedingly unpleasant.

"Booth…" Brennan reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know how hard this is for you. Remember, you're not alone anymore."

Booth sighed, squeezed Brennan's hand then said, "Thanks Bones. I know, it means a lot to me." He opened the door to get out of the vehicle, "Let's get this over with."

They walked together, shoulder to shoulder up the sidewalk to the front door of the Sinclair's home. Brennan took a deep breath then rang the doorbell. The noise was deafening in the silence of the predawn morning. They both knew that they were about to deliver news that is every parents worst nightmare. It took several minutes before they heard footsteps approaching the door, and then the porch light came on, nearly blinding them both.

A man's voice asked, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Mark Sinclair? I'm Special Agent Seeley Booth from the FBI. I know it's early, but we need to speak to you about your children."

"Hold on." He quickly unlocked the door and after taking a closer look at Booth's badge he stepped aside to let them into his home.

"Thank you Mark, this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Did you find Evan and Amanda?" he asked.

"Mr. Sinclair that's what we wanted to talk to you about," Brennan began as she looked past him and asked, "Do you have somewhere we could sit down and talk?"

"Sure, sure we can sit down in the living room," he said as he led them down the hall.

"Should I wake my wife?"

"Let her sleep. You can wake her after we talk."

Booth sat down on the couch before continuing. "You asked if we had found your children earlier, the answer is yes and no."

"Oh God you found them? Are they okay? Where are they?"

Brennan leaned forward and patted his leg comfortingly as he was beginning to panic. "We found your son, Evan. I'm so sorry but he's dead."

"Oh God, what will I tell my wife? Are you sure? He demanded between sobs. "How did he die?"

Booth interrupted before he could ask more questions. "Before we answer your questions we have more to tell you. We believe that Amanda was with Evan when he passed away. We need you to find something of Amanda's to give to the Search and Rescue people so they can use it as a scent marker for the dogs."

"Amanda's alive! Are you certain?" Mark couldn't believe that he had just gone from the lowest low to the highest high in a matter of seconds. He was still grieving the loss of his son, but the news that they thought Amanda was still alive filled him with hope once more.

"We don't know for certain, but every minute counts from now on. Please, if you can find something of Amanda's, like a favorite piece of clothing, shoes, jewelry, a stuffed toy, anything you know she has touched most recently that would contain more of her scent then anyone else in the household?" Brennan asked, as she continued to explain what Mark needed to do.

He jumped up from the couch and headed to his daughters room.

"Wait, before you grab something, let me know what you're going to choose. Don't pick the item up or touch it, just point to it. I'll pick it up with my surgical gloves on and drop it into one of my evidence bags." Brennan instructed Mark.

"Is that necessary?"

"The search and rescue dogs need to have the cleanest scent article that we can find. It makes it much easier for the dogs to track the missing person. They'll probably just put a piece of sterile gauze in the bag when we arrive and then remove it after a few minutes when your daughters scent has covered the gauze. That way you can keep your daughters possessions."

Brennan and Booth followed Mark to Amanda's room. He stopped in the doorway, his eyes welling with tears as he tried to decide what to give them. Brennan looked over his shoulder at Amanda's room.

In typical teenage girl fashion the room was pink, with pretty white curtains covered with butterflies hanging in the window. The walls were covered with posters of the latest pop singers, the likes of Celine Dion, Jessica Simpson, Nick Lachey, and The Jonas Brothers. Where there weren't any posters there were shelves covered with books, stuffed animals and dolls. In the center of the room was a twin canopy bed covered with a pink flowered comforter. Leaning against the pillow was a small stuffed bear, with thick brown fur, a shiny black nose and chocolate colored glass eyes. His stomach had a pink heart with the word Love embroidered on it.

"Mr. Sinclair, do you know if your daughter slept with the little bear on her pillow?"

"I think so, her boyfriend Eric won that bear for her at the carnival last summer. Evan caught her with it one night and kept teasing her about sleeping with a stuffed toy at her age. God, they loved each other so much."

Brennan stepped past Mark and gently picked up the stuffed bear then placed it in one of the plastic bags she always carried with her.

Just then Erica Sinclair came into view her petite figure wrapped in a warm robe, her hair tumbled around her head in gentle curls her eyes still sleep filled. "What's going on Mark?"

"Honey, I need to talk to you. Can you give me a minute?" He turned to Brennan and Booth then began to usher them down the hallway.

"Before I tell my wife, is it possible for us to see our son?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea. We were able to match Evan's DNA with the hair you gave us from his hairbrush." Brennan explained.

"It's probably better if you stay at home with your wife, so you can let her know what's going on. If we find anything, you'll be the first to know." Booth told Mark. "I have a son myself, so I understand how worried you both are about, Amanda. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to loose a child. We will do whatever it takes to find your daughter."

Suddenly they heard a loud gasp and Erica Sinclair sobbed, "What!? What did you say? Evan is dead? Oh God!" She began to sob. When she could catch her breath she demanded, "Where's my daughter? Where's Amanda!?"

"Honey, please calm down. Let me explain."

It was clear that she was on the verge of hysteria. Brennan said to Booth under her breath, "Maybe we should call an ambulance so they can give her something to calm her down."

"No, no…I don't want any drugs, where are my children?" She started walking towards her husband when her face suddenly turned ashen, her hands shaking and the sweat began beading on her brow. Her eyes glazed over as she began falling.

"Booth, she's fainted, catch her." Brennan said in shock.

"Bones, call 911!"

"Mrs. Sinclair!"

"Erica!"

"Oh God, help her please, I can't take this, not now."

"The paramedics are on the way. Booth let's lay her down on the couch, Mark, go and get a cold washcloth for her forehead. I'm sure she'll be okay in a few minutes. It was too much of a shock for her right now."

Mark returned shortly with the cold cloth. "Do you have a pillow or something to elevate her legs?" Brennan asked.

"Sure, use this," he said as he grabbed a pillow from one of the reclining chairs.

"Please don't go until the paramedics get here," Mark pleaded.

"Look, see I told you she would be okay in a minute, she's coming too."

"We won't leave until we know your wife is okay. We do need to leave soon though as we're supposed to meet the Search dog teams at dawn." Booth reminded him.

Soon the paramedics arrived. They took Erica's vitals before informing the room at large that under the circumstances it might be better to let her stay in the hospital for a few hours under observation. They wanted her to be well and healthy when her daughter was found. It took a little while but Booth, Brennan, and her husband finally convinced her to go, with the promise that they would let them know as soon as any new developments arose.

Booth and Brennan walked out behind the gurney carrying Erica. They waved goodbye to her and said they would be in touch soon before hopping into the SUV for the ride back out to the crime scene. It was going to be a very long day.

While Booth drove them back to the crime scene, Brennan was on the phone speaking with Agent Mathews. "Agent Mathews, this is Dr. Temperance Brennan. I'm calling to let you know my partner and I are running late. We had to send Amanda and Evan's mother to the hospital. As you can imagine she's having a hard time handling the news." She paused for a moment waiting for him to speak.

"Booth says we're about thirty minutes away. Are all of the rescue teams there now?"

Agent Mathew's informed her that everyone was on scene and would be ready to be debriefed as soon as they arrived.

"Please tell them that we were able to obtain an item belonging to Amanda."

They said goodbye and Brennan closed her phone before putting it back in her jacket pocket.

As they pulled into Gambrill State Park for the second time in less than twelve hours they were greeted by several new faces. Agent Mathew's made his way over to them. "Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan, if you'll follow me we have a command post available for you to debrief the rescue teams before they send the dogs out."

They followed him over to a new setup that was equipped with several GPS tracking devices, radios and a huge map of Gambrill State Park, Cunningham Falls Park and Catoctin State Park. Every known trail in each park was mapped out, waiting for them to decide which area to begin their search.

Brennan and Booth looked at each other, clearly impressed with how well organized they were. Agent Mathew's began to make the introductions since he had met the rescue team earlier, and had helped them set up their equipment while they had waited for them to arrive.

"May I have everyone's attention please?"

All activity ceased as everyone gathered around so they could introduce themselves, their dogs and each dog's capabilities.

"This is Special Agent Seeley Booth of the FBI, and his partner Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Hi, I'm Don Ellington, I'll be searching with my German shepherd, Phantom."

Booth and Brennan eyed the middle aged man with dark, short hair and a mustache. He was about six foot tall, a big burly man with a nose for seeking out the worst of the criminal world.

Don then introduced them to John Smith and his Bloodhound Dolly. "It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances."

"Hi it's nice to meet you." Booth and Brennan nodded to John.

John shook hands with both Booth and Brennan before adding, "Dolly will be the main one using the scent marker you brought. I can tell you with certainty if, Amanda, was here, Dolly will find her in no time at all. She's the best tracking dog I've ever had."

"This is Elisa Thomson; she'll be searching with her American Cocker Spaniel, Rocket. Rocket's a young dog, with a remarkable talent for air scenting, so long as he keeps his mind on the business of tracking and doesn't get sidetracked by a cat or his favorite feathered friend." Don winked as he finished making introductions.

"Nice to meet you," Booth and Brennan shook Elisa's hand.

"Before we get started, Agent Mathews informed me that you had some concerns about how reliable the dogs search will be since there were numerous people at the crime scene. Is that correct?" Don asked.

"Yes, I had some concerns. This is the first time my partner and I have worked with Search and Rescue dogs. I'm a friend of Molly's, but her dog Tuti is only trained as a cadaver dog, which is a bit different than what you and your dogs do."

Brennan watched Don and the rest of the rescue members looking for any signs that would lead her to believe they did not have complete confidence in their dogs.

"I prefer my crime scenes be as pristine as possible. It makes my job as a forensic anthropologist much easier. Before we arrived, there were at least six to twelve people walking through the crime scene area. Once my partner and I arrived, no one else had access to the area. Will that cause complications for the dogs?" Brennan asked her voice concerned. She needed the dogs to find Amanda as much for the young girls parents as she did for herself and Booth.

"We'd like to put your mind at ease. Despite all of the activity of combing the crime scene, removing your victim's body and collecting evidence, the dogs will still be able to pick out the scents of your missing person and her abductor."

"How is that possible?" Booth asked, amazed that with all of the other potential scents the dogs would still be capable of picking out only Amanda's and her kidnapper.

"Let me give you two reasons to explain why that's possible. The first is the fact that all dogs have a total of 125-200 million olfactory cells whereas us human's only have about 5 million olfactory cells."

Booth was looking at Don with a confused look on his face.

Brennan explained, "Olfactory cells are what enable us to smell."

"Oh, I see."

Don continued to explain, "That's right, Dr. Brennan. All humans whether alive or deceased constantly emit microscopic particles bearing human scent. Millions of particles are airborne and are carried by the wind for considerable distances."

_Gee whiz, what is with everyone, first Bones, the squints and now even the search and rescue team are talking like scientists. Hodgin's would be in seventh heaven if he was here now._ Booth thought to himself. There were days when he wondered how he ever graduated from high school, let alone college after working around his co-workers the last few years. Booth quickly returned his attention back to Don's explanation.

"Those dogs that are trained to air scent can locate any human in a specific search area. These dogs are not restricted to following the missing persons track from their path on the ground, but can air scent search long after the ground track is obliterated."

Don continued explaining what he and his dog would be doing during the search. "My boy Phantom's specialty is being able to pick out the one scent most likely to be your perpetrator. He does this by following what we like to call either a 'hot' or 'fear scent' trail on the ground or by air scenting."

Booth and Brennan looked at each other quizzically. "What do you mean by that exactly?" Booth asked.

"I can't give you a scientifically accurate reason why, I just know from my own firsthand experience along with other police officers, search and rescue members and their k-9 partners that most dogs prefer to track what is known as 'fear' scent – or the scent of an emotionally aroused person. This instinct or ability is what I rely on when starting Phantom on a contaminated criminal track such as we have today. I've learned over the years to trust him, as he has never been wrong yet."

"Really, you have no scientific reason to explain how the dogs do this?" Booth asked while smirking at his partner. "Then I guess you could say that you and Phantom are following your _gut_, so to speak?"

Don laughed then winked at, Booth, nodding his head in agreement. "I guess that's what you would probably call it."

Brennan rolled her eyes and snorted her disdain, "Anthropologically speaking it has more to do with the primal ability of canid's to recognize the weak or fearful members of society. Now, because the dogs are working side by side with humans, it may come from the dog's association with people and officers. Everyday their noses are filled with the scent of criminals who are running in fear from the police. It's only logical that they would learn to follow that scent, as it ultimately leads to the dogs being rewarded for finding the criminal."

"Geez, Bones you just can't make it through the day or a case without bringing in anthropology can you?" Booth whined, "You'll have to excuse her. After four years of us being partners she still can't bring herself to trust my _gut_ or anyone else's for that matter."

"That's okay we'll just let the dogs do their jobs. This is the quickest way to make the most skeptical person understand. I can say with certainty the dogs will find your missing person as long as the area we are searching contains evidence left behind by the suspect."

"What we will do once you direct us to the area to be searched is to take our dogs out one at a time, where they will either begin a ground scent trail or an airborne one. If we don't find anything once the initial area has been thoroughly searched, we will begin to search a larger area, one that everyone agrees is the most likely point to begin searching for your missing person and your suspect."

Elisa had a special request to ask of Booth and Brennan, "If it's at all possible, we would like to have the dogs introduced to anyone from law enforcement that has had access to the area you would like us to search. That would include whoever was the first to report finding the victim. This is so that the dogs understand that they are not who we are looking for."

"I'm sure that can be arranged." Booth said.

"Our search areas will have to be mapped out according to the current wind conditions. When the dogs are air scenting they have to be searching into the wind. Those that search by ground scent should be heading downwind. Since we will be searching a large area this could take a while, depending on whether we stay on the marked trails or we end up in more wilderness type terrain."

'Right, which means we should probably get started then." Booth said. "Agent Mathew's can you round up everyone that we know for certain was at the crime scene last night?"

"Sure, just give me a minute."

"Don't forget to bring Mr. and Mrs. Mitchelson over with your men. I know this is going to be hard on Annette, so we'll need to do this quickly." Brennan reminded Agent Mathew's.

"While we're waiting for Agent Mathew's and the others, I wanted to remind everyone that there are five thousand acres in Cunningham Falls Park alone." Don paused as he waited for the rest of them to grasp the magnitude of what he was telling them. "There are nine miles of trails that connect Gambrill State Park and Cunningham Falls Park that can only be reached via the Catoctin Trail, which itself covers twenty-seven miles. We're looking at a six to eight hour search that will have to be gridded out if the dogs don't find something right away."

"Do you have some kind of routine you usually follow on a case this size?" Booth asked. "I assume since your reminding us how big this search could become that you have a list of people you prefer to have working with each team?"

John nodded, "Yes. Since we are covering a lot of ground, we need someone here at the base camp to keep track of where we have already searched. We usually have another assistant following us with the dogs, especially when we are searching a heavily wooded area like this. It's highly unlikely that our suspect stayed on a marked trail for any length of time. Dolly will be wearing her tracking harness at all times, but Phantom and Rocket will spend the majority of their search off leash as they will be air scenting more often then tracking."

Elisa motioned to the table under the tent with all of the accessories they would be using with the dogs. "Each handler will be equipped with a radio and the dogs with a GPS tracker." She pointed to each item. "Rocket and Phantom will be wearing a special blanket that lets everyone know they are a Search and Rescue dog. The blankets make the dogs highly visible to other law enforcement officers or anyone who may be driving a motor vehicle in case the dogs end up near a busy highway while conducting a search. We don't want anything to endanger the dog's safety."

Don turned to the map and pointed, "Of course we'll begin our search on Yellow Poplar trail since that is where the victim was found. After that we will begin searching the less strenuous trails. More than likely our suspect didn't want to have to divide his attention between his two victims and watching a potentially life threatening trail."

"We won't be searching these trails for the following reasons. White Oak trail is for bikers only. Red Maple is not connected to any other trail in the park. Green Ash trail is about two miles long however it encompasses an area that is full of uneven ground and several steep hills, making this another unlikely path for our suspect to have traveled."

Don continued pointing to each trail on the map. "Both Black Locust trail and the Catoctin Trail overlap Yellow Poplar trail, here and here. Black Locust trail is about three miles long, is fairly easy to hike but does have a couple of steeper areas with good views of the Frederick Valley to the east and Middleton Valley to the west. The trail goes from Gambrill State park for approximately three miles, and continues north through the Frederick City Watershed, Cunningham Falls State Park, and Catoctin Mountain National Park. For now we'll concentrate the search in these areas."

Agent Mathew's returned with the Mitchelson's and the other law enforcement officers who were first at the crime scene the night before. Don, Elisa and John went to retrieve their dogs so they could introduce them to the others.

When they returned with the dogs, Don informed them, "Please, don't touch or say anything to the dogs. Just stand there and let them come to you so they can sniff each of you and move on. We don't want them to get attached to anyone. We just want them to know that you are a scent they already know, so that when we do send them out to search, hopefully they won't be following your trail instead of Amanda's or the suspect."

Within ten minutes the dogs had seen and met everyone and it was time to begin the search. "My partner and I would like to thank all of you for making the time to see the dogs." Booth said.

Annette Mitchelson had tears in her eyes as she watched the Search dog teams head up the trail. "I know you said you can't tell us anything, but if you do find Amanda alive, I hope that you will tell her that my husband and I were, and are praying for her and her family, Agent Booth."

"If it's possible I'll try and find a way to let you know if we find her alive and well." Booth patted her hand trying to offer her some level of comfort. Finding human remains was hard enough, but knowing you had found the remains of a young child was exceedingly difficult. He hoped that the young woman wouldn't be struggling with nightmares for years to come as a result. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy.

Booth and Brennan followed the rest of the crowd up the trail to the crime scene. "Agent Mathews did you inform everyone they should be on the lookout for poisonous snakes, coyotes or possibly even a black bear while they are searching for Amanda." Booth asked.

"Yes, that was one of the first things we talked about this morning."

As they continued up the narrow, rocky trail Don said, "Once we reach the scene; please don't be offended if we suddenly stop talking to you. We need to concentrate on our dogs, so we don't miss their first _alert _that will tell us they have caught either Amanda or our suspects scent."

"Once the dogs find a track, they can really travel a lot of ground in a very short time. It can be very exhausting, both mentally and physically. I know Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan and Agent Mathews are going to want to follow us; however it will be safer and save more time if you all remain at the scene. If/when we find something, we'll radio you with our position." John informed them.

"We're almost there," Brennan said as she paused for a moment to reach into the pocket of her lab coat. She handed John two evidence bags, one with Amanda's teddy bear and the other with the sterile piece of gauze. I wasn't sure if you would just want the teddy bear or the gauze with her scent, so I brought both just in case. I hope that this will enable you and Dolly to find Amanda."

"Let's try the one with the gauze for now. I would like to keep Dolly from getting her dog slobbers all over it. I'm sure it means a lot to Amanda's family that nothing happens to her possessions."

John proceeded to put Dolly's tracking harness on her. He quickly opened the evidence bag and held it to the Bloodhounds nose. She thrust three fourths of her muzzle, including five or six rolls of her black and tan lip folds, or flews inside the bag as she inhaled Amanda's scent. "Seek and find." He commanded.

Dolly inhaled several times, steaming up the plastic bag before pulling her muzzle free, lowering her nose to the ground and sniffing and snorting like a pig as her long floppy ears fell forward, lifting the scent off the wet, rocky trail into her large, black quivering nostrils. Dolly began pulling on her harness, her head weaving back and forth across the ground. Within a couple of minutes she had worked her way into the crime scene area, her nose going non stop, her tail standing upright as it waved slowly back and forth. She circled around the burned area several times, before she suddenly lifted her head from the ground where Booth and Brennan had found Evan's backpack, and let out a mournful deep woof.

"She's got her." John mumbled under his breath. "Seek and find, Dolly." That was all the encouragement she needed as she took off up the trail at a fast trot, her nose glued to the ground, sniffing, snorkeling and grunting the entire time.

Don proceeded up the trail, sending Phantom out to do his initial search. The big black and tan German shepherd went straight to work, his head lifted into the light wind that had just recently began blowing again. He was waving his head from side to side, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in the scent flowing in on the breeze.

His ears were pricked forward, listening for any unusual sounds. He occasionally dropped his head to the ground, before sniffing around looking for that one special scent he loved so much. He knew once he found it, and took Don to the source, he would get the biggest, juiciest steak ever. To everyone's surprise he went to Don, sat down, twisted his head sideways as he made eye contact with him, bounced his nose off of his knee and then turned around and headed back down the way they had just come.

"Does anyone else think that's odd?" Booth whispered. "Why would one of the dogs go one way and the other another?"

"They could be following two different scent trails or it could be the same one. It's not unusual for a criminal or a missing person to cover the same ground. The criminals think that by going in several different directions they can confuse the search dogs. Once in a while that works. Usually if the track is not too old the dogs will pick up the trail again." Elisa answered.

Elisa leaned down to talk to her Irish setter red colored Cocker Spaniel, Rocket. He sat down before lifting his head up to look at her, his dark brown eyes full of excitement, his tail wagging furiously back and forth, making a slight indentation in the ground. His long, silky red ears were lifted nearly to the top of his skull listening to every word she said to him. His whole body was wiggling in excitement.

She walked him to the crime scene while he was still on leash, "Rocket, seek and find." He moved rapidly around the scene his nose alternately sniffing the ground then the air. Rocket quartered the ground, back and forth numerous times.

He paused in mid stride, his head facing into the wind, his long red ears blowing behind his shoulders and out away from his head. His tail was up, gently wagging from side to side, his neck outstretched as high as it would go, his muzzle quivering like a rabbits. He turned and looked at Elisa before bounding towards her a few steps. She pulled him to her, so she could release him from the leash. He was off like a shot as soon as he heard the snap hook release. He flew down the trail the same direction that Don and Phantom had gone before quickly veering off the trail and down into the thick underbrush that led towards the valley below.

"He's onto something really good, I can feel it!" Elisa exclaimed in excitement as she took off after her dog.

TBC

A/N Please don't forget to leave me a review and tell me what you liked the most or the least about this chapter. A favorite line or scene you especially enjoyed etc.


	5. Chapter 5

One Moment in Time

Chapter Five

Amanda Sinclair struggled fiercely against the throbbing pain in her head. She moaned softly, as she regained consciousness. Her hands were shaking with fear, as she reached up and gently parted the tangled mass of her hair, feeling the huge egg shaped lump behind her right ear. She groaned again.

_Ow! _With a gasp she shot bolt upright, her eyes flew open despite her aching head. _Oh God why can't I see?_ She frantically felt all around her body and realized she had been lying on some kind of bench or bunk style bed, with a pillow and several blankets, none of which were doing anything to stave off the chill in the air.

Amanda's breathing increased as panic quickly consumed her. Her heart was racing and she could feel it pounding in her chest. Why couldn't she remember what happened to her? _Think_ she scolded herself. She had been at the Boys and Girls club after school on Wednesday afternoon. She had spent time working on her homework with her best friend Sally… How did she get here, and where exactly was here?

Her body rocked back and forth as she pulled her legs up to her chest, and wrapped her arms around her knees. Her teeth began to chatter as her body shuddered, whether from her fear or the dampness in the air, Amanda didn't know which. Her once quiet sobs grew louder as the minutes slowly ticked away.

She couldn't be sure exactly how much time had passed, before she suddenly realized that the low rumbling noise she had heard upon first awakening was steadily growing louder and louder, nearly making it impossible to hear her own sobbing.

_Okay, pull yourself together, _she admonished herself angrily. With shaking hands she wiped her dripping nose. _What __**is**__ that noise? _Gingerly she extended her hand out as far as she could reach, trying to figure out how big the area she now found herself in really was. The air smelled of damp earth and there were no signs of any windows or a light source of any kind.

Amanda tentatively extended her right foot out in front of her before taking first one, then another hesitant step forward. With each step she moved her arms back and forth in front of her until she felt something cold, wet and slightly slimy. _Eeewwww! _She gasped, jumped back and wiped her hand on her pant leg, before quickly covering her mouth for fear someone would hear her.

Her head continued to throb as her mind tried to recall the events of Wednesday afternoon. It was after another of these painful memory flashes that she remembered standing in the school's parking lot and seeing her younger brother running towards her, wide eyed with terror as he screamed her name. _Oh God. _She moaned. "Evan!" she whispered frantically. "Evan, where are you?" she said aloud, her voice filled with fear.

_Why can't I remember what happened to my little brother?!_ She wailed. Deep down she knew something really bad had occurred for her to have ended up here, with no sign of Evan. Amanda continued feeling her way around. After several minutes she discovered that she was in an area that was probably no more than eight feet by eight feet.

The floor was dirt as were all four walls as far as she could tell by feeling her way around the room. Along one wall there were several shelves full of tin cans, glass jars, pots, pans and what felt like more food and kitchen paraphernalia. Of course as she already knew the bed took up most of one wall, along with a chair and possibly a small desk or table. With no light it was hard to tell for certain.

As time passed without her captor making an appearance she gradually calmed down enough that her memory began to return. Most were just random images of the day she first disappeared.

Suddenly another memory appeared before her eyes. Only this time, they were no longer at the school, but were somewhere out in the woods, where she recalled being violently pushed from behind. She had stumbled forward, nearly landing on her knees as she fought to remain on her feet. Now they were standing in a grassy clearing, just off the trail she and Evan had been forced to walk.

It was then that she realized Evan had not been running towards her, but past her as he tackled their kidnapper. He hit him at a dead run which sent them both flying across the small clearing, where they landed with a loud thud. _Humph,_ both of them gasped as the wind was knocked out of them.

Evan quickly scrambled up off the ground, frantically looking for anything to use as a weapon. "Amanda…RUUUUNNNNN!" he screamed.

"No! I won't leave you; he's going to hurt you!" Her eyes were huge with fear, not only for herself but for her younger sibling. It would be over her dead body before anyone hurt her little brother.

"Then help me, we have to find something to tie him up." Evan said as he ran to the duffle bag their captor had been carrying with him. "Please, let him have some rope or something in here." Evan prayed.

As Evan continued looking through the contents of the bag, Amanda spun in a quick circle, looking for anything she could think of to use as a weapon. Finally she saw the medium size, flat oval rock. She picked it up but before she could use it to hit their abductor he regained his feet, lunged towards her, grabbed her by the arm and flung her violently away from him.

"You little witch, you'll pay for that! Both of you are going to pay…" he snarled, as he began to charge Amanda again as she rolled across the clearing. Before he took more than a couple of steps Evan came after him again, this time he was swinging a medium sized branch. Once, twice he swung the branch, each time the kidnapper jumped back and sneered as he taunted, "C'mon is that all you can do? You think you can take me. When Evan didn't respond immediately but continued to watch him, waiting for just the right time to catch him off guard, the kidnapper lost it.

"What's the matter? Lost your nerve? He began to strut around, bobbing his head around, clucking and flapping his arms like a chicken, all in an effort to make Evan loose control. "Here chick, chick, come and get me! Brock, brock!" Unfortunately because of his age, Evan fell for the ruse.

"You're sick, you pervert!" Evan screamed as he lunged towards the kidnapper. "I won't let you hurt my sister, I'd rather die first!"

The young boy and his opponent eyed each other, each looking for any opening to attack one another. Evan swung first, however his arms were not long enough and he missed making a direct hit by several inches. Each time he swung the branch his attacker was able to anticipate his next move, enabling him to keep just out of Evan's reach.

As the two struggled in a fight to the death, Amanda began to fear for her younger brother's safety. She was able to pick up several medium sized rocks and began launching them at their captor's head, like they were little missiles. She tried in vain to land a debilitating blow to his head.

When that failed to distract him she began frantically looking for something else to use as a weapon. She finally spotted another longer branch, picked it up and ran towards the two locked in mortal combat. Amanda was able to hit their captor several times, once nearly knocking him to his knees. However, despite all of their valiant efforts all they succeeded in doing was ticking off their kidnapper.

When Amanda swung at him again he turned on her in a rage, grabbing the branch in mid swing and hurling both her and the branch across the clearing. The branch went one way, Amanda another. She looked like a rag doll when she hit the ground, her arms and legs limp. She laid there semi conscience for several minutes.

"You bastard, I'll kill you for that!" Evan bellowed as he tackled their captor and the two of them went rolling across the grass, each trying to land a fatal blow. Their captor was in for a bit of a surprise, as Evan had recently been participating in wrestling class at the boys and girls club. He had to give the little twerp credit as he was stronger and faster than he had imagined an eleven-year-old boy would be.

He wasn't about to be outwitted or outsmarted by some little punk kid. Suddenly in the blink of an eye the branch Evan had been using as a weapon somehow ended up in his captor's hands. In a matter of seconds he had found an opening when Evan was trying to regain his footing. He quickly took aim, landing a direct hit to Evan's head.

Amanda screamed as she heard the branch crack his skull, the noise reverberating off the walls of the little valley they were in for several seconds. There was a loud sickening thump as Evan crumbled to the ground. She shook her head to clear away the last vestiges of dizziness. She quickly scrambled to her feet, all the while stumbling and staggering across the ground. When she finally reached him she threw herself on her knees beside him, then bent down and scooped him up off of the ground onto her lap. She covered his body with hers, hoping to fend off another attack.

"Evan, wake up, please wake up!" she begged between sobs as she began to rock back and forth holding her baby brother in her arms. He would forever remain her little hero. She knew he was hurt badly when she saw the huge bloodstain on the rock next to them and the pool of blood beginning to form on the ground.

Amanda was brought back to the present by a loud rustling noise coming from above. She froze and immediately stopped crying, listening for the slightest hint as to who or what was making the noise. It took what seemed like forever before there was a loud squealing noise. She would later come to realize it was the metal hinges to a solid stainless steel trapdoor above her little cell.

As the door above her was opened she was nearly blinded by the bright white light that lit up her dark, dank little compartment. It took her several seconds to regain her sight and when she did, she gasped in shock.

"You! What did you do to my brother? Where is he? As he continued down into the dirt room, she could see more of the area she was being held in. At the moment though all she wanted to do was find out what happened to Evan. If she didn't get some answers soon, she was going to fight to her dying breath to get out of this hell hole.

"Hey, I'm talking to you! Where's Evan?" she demanded, as she grabbed him by the arm.

"Excuse me, it looks like someone needs to learn some manners!" he said as he advanced on her. Before Amanda could open her mouth to scream he backhanded her across the face, sending her flying down onto the little bunk bed where she sat cowering and holding her stinging cheek. The tears quickly began to well in her eyes before slowly sliding down her face.

"No one speaks to me or treats me like you and that little punk kid you called a brother! He snarled at her, his nose mere centimeters from her face. His breath reeked of stale beer and tobacco.

"Listen up, as I'm only going to say this once, from now on you don't speak unless I tell you to? Got it? He asked as he poked his fist in her face, threatening to hit her if she didn't accept that from now on he was the person in charge of her entire existence.

Amanda silently nodded her head in acceptance. For the moment at least, but she wasn't making any promises. She knew if she didn't keep her wits about her she was not going to survive whatever time she had to spend with this person. Whatever he had done to Evan was not going to happen to her. She made a promise to herself that she would live long enough to tell their parents how brave their son had been. She wanted everyone to know that he was a true hero.

Her abductor was mumbling something under his breath. He was speaking so softly it was impossible to hear him over that non stop roaring going on somewhere outside this cell. He began pacing back and forth ringing his hands.

He was pretty annoyed with himself and the day's events. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse. He needed some time to regroup and figure out what he was going to do next. In order to do that, he was going to have to do something to keep his victim subdued and quiet. He couldn't concentrate while she was crying or begging him to tell her what happened to that punk brother of hers.

He walked over to one of the cabinet's Amanda had missed in her search through her dark prison cell. He found a pair of handcuffs and leg shackles which he used to cuff her hands in front of her. He then took the leg chains and shackled her to the bunk bed's frame. He pushed her down on the bed and proceeded to stuff an old handkerchief that reeked of oil into her mouth and then tied it around the back of her head.

"This should keep you quiet for a while." He let out a relieved sigh. He walked over to the chair and sat down. Now he wouldn't have to worry about her trying to attack him again.

He had to admit, she was the first one of his victims to ever put up such a fight this early in the game. She was not his first nor even his second, there had been so many he had long ago lost count. He figured it must have had something to do with having her kid brother along for the ride. He was pissed that he had miscalculated the time he would need to entice her to his car before the other kids got out of school.

He laid his head down on the desk and began banging his forehead on it. "Why couldn't they have waited just five more minutes and they would have been gone." Now he had to decide if he should risk moving her from here or not. Who knew how many more people with those damn Search and Rescue dogs would be out combing the area looking for them?

He was tired now from being up for the past forty-eight hours so it wasn't long before his body relaxed and Amanda found herself listening to his loud snores.

She tried not to let herself sink into despair. _Great he's finally asleep_! _What good is that going to do? It's not like I can go anywhere while I'm chained to the bed! _She buried her head in the pillow to muffle her sobs and prayed that when he awoke he wouldn't hurt her anymore or worse yet kill her.

Booth and Brennan spent several hours sitting around listening to the radio transmissions between Don and the other search dog teams. Finally during one of the latest updates with another false lead, Don suggested that they go ahead and return to FBI headquarters.

"Ok, Don, we'll get back to you in a few hours. If you find a solid lead, Agent Mathews knows how to get in touch with us." Booth sighed as he paced from one end of the small tent to the other. He brushed his hand through his hair and added, "I'm sure I don't need to remind you that Mrs. Sinclair's health is in jeopardy if we don't find her daughter alive soon."

The radio sputtered with static before Don's voice came back, "No sir, you sure don't. I have two kids of my own, I think I have a pretty good idea how these folks must be feeling about now. It's bad enough they know one is already gone. Wondering whether their daughter is still alive or dead, I can't even begin to imagine what things they must be thinking right now."

"I hear ya Don; I have a six year old son…"

"We're doing our best Agent Booth, I give you my word we will not stop until the dogs have covered every inch of this park, if Amanda and this psycho are out here, we'll find them, one way or another." Don's confident voice boomed through the radio.

"If we get any new leads after talking with the Sinclair's friends, we'll be in touch."

Ten-four, over and out." Don's voice crackled over the airwaves.

In the sudden silence, Brennan leaned over and gently tapped her partner's arm. "We're going to find them, Booth. Why don't you drop me off at the lab first? I'll see if the rest of the team has any new info to share. Besides, I really need to change these boots, my feet are killing me."

Booth glanced down at his partner, and for the first time he noticed that she had dark circles under her eyes from working on this case for nearly forty-eight hours straight. He had loaned her one of his spare standard issued FBI jackets earlier when he noticed her shivering from the chill in the morning air. He watched her as she pulled the jacket tighter around her body and pulled the collar up around her ears. She was shifting her weight every few seconds from one foot to the other, evidence that she had not been lying about her feet bothering her.

"C-mon, Bones' let's go get you some comfortable shoes and both of us some fresh clothes. You know it's been a long time since we last ate at Sid's."

He watched his partners face, as her smooth full lips burst into a warm smile. Her sapphire blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she said, "Booth, that's exactly what we both need, one of Sid's special meals to lift our spirits after this mornings dismal start."

"How 'bout I give him a call and tell him we'd like a reservation for lunch in an hour and a half?"

Brennan looked at her watch, paused for a moment then nodded and said, "I think that should give me enough time to change clothes and confer with the others. Why don't you set up a time to talk to Sally, Ryan and Matt after you drop me off at the lab?"

They had begun walking back to the parking lot when Brennan asked, "Booth, you are going to let Sweets sit in while we interview these kids, aren't you?"

While they had been walking, Booth, had pulled his cell phone out and was in the middle of dialing Sid when he came to an abrupt stop, his brows drew together in a frown, as he demanded, "What? Why… Geez, Bones, do you think that I can't handle interviewing Evan and Amanda's friends? I mean, really, what do you think I've been doing all these years when there was no Sweet's around?"

"I…I didn't mean…it's just he seemed rather put out when you told him that he wasn't allowed to speak with them. Besides, I think he's been affected by this case more than he wants you to know…"

"That's exactly my point. One more reason I don't want him anywhere near them. I already have to deal with three young teenagers raw emotions. I mean, do you really think these kids will feel like Sweets is old enough to counsel them through their grief? He looks younger than they do for Pete's sake."

Brennan sighed, exasperated with her partner's continual degrading of the FBI's brightest and youngest asset. "You really should give him a little more credit than you have been. You do have to admit, he's been pretty accurate on the few cases he has collaborated on with us."

"I suppose so," he admitted grudgingly. However, I still think it was purely dumb luck in a couple of instances."

"Booth!" Sid's deep voice boomed across the front lobby as Booth and Brennan entered the restaurant.

"Sid, how ya doin, man?" Booth grabbed Sid's hand and shook it vigorously as they both clapped each other on the back warmly.

"I've been good, and you?"

"Good, good, just extremely busy which is why it's been so long since my last visit. Hey, it looks like the move hasn't hurt your business any, I'd say you might even have more customer's than usual." Booth observed as he quickly scanned the dining room that was almost filled to capacity with the afternoon lunch crowd.

"You're right, things have been hopping. I've been pleasantly surprised by how many of my regular customers still come to partake of my food."

"Oh, come on Sid you know none of us can stay away from your special menus."

"I can't believe you haven't been here sooner, demanding that I dish you up my famous apple pie a la mode." Sid said, a wide smile making his eyes appear to sparkle.

"Yeah, Parker's been begging me to bring him out here for one of your spectacular banana split sundaes."

The bells on the front door rang signaling another customer had arrived. Sid glanced towards the door and said with a surprised smile, "Well, I'll be…"

"Daddy! Daddy!" There was a sudden gust of air as Parker Booth came charging through the restaurant at a dead run and launched himself into his fathers arms, nearly knocking them both to the floor.

Booth looked up at Sid and Brennan his eyes questioning them silently. "What are you doing here, Bub?" He asked Parker as he squeezed him tighter.

Parker grunted softly as he said breathlessly, "Dad, your squashing me!" He began to struggle to free himself from Booths arms.

"I'm sorry, Park." Booth quickly released his son and pushed him away from him gently. "How did you…"

Just then Rebecca rushed in, carrying Parker's jacket he had left on the backseat of the car. "Parker Booth, I told you it's still too cold for you not to wear a coat!" She admonished her son.

"I'm sorry Mom." He mumbled. "I just wanted to see Dad."

"You're definitely your father's son," she sighed with resignation while brushing Parker's hair off of his face.

"Ok, Bones, what did you do to get Rebecca to bring Parker here?"

"I… I didn't…"

Before his partner could finish Rebecca walked up to him, leaned in and gave him a quick hug. Before she pulled away she whispered, "Seeley, why didn't you tell me about Evan Sinclair and his sister? I would have brought Parker to see you; all you had to do was ask. You know, contrary to what you seem to believe lately, I do understand what these cases do to you."

"I know. I'm sorry, sometimes I forget that we've been through a lot of tuff times ourselves over the years. Forgive me?" He asked sheepishly.

Their eyes met for a moment glistening with emotion. Booth reached out and pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly while he murmured softly, "Thank you so much for letting Parker spend some time with me. You have no idea what this means to me today."

"I think I do as Dr. Brennan made it pretty clear it was imperative that Parker spend a few hours with you. I know she's not supposed to discuss your cases, but she felt she had to tell me what has been happening and how much it has affected all of you."

The two of them continued hugging as Booth caught his partner's eyes and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

"Your welcome," she mouthed back.

"I haven't forgotten how it felt when you told me that Howard Epps had taken Parker and you didn't have any idea where he had taken our boy." Rebecca choked back unshed tears as she added, "You tell them, especially Mrs. Sinclair, if either of them needs to talk I would be honored to sit with them for a while. I know how hard it was for me when you first told me that Parker was missing and I didn't have anyone to talk to until our parent's finally arrived."

"I'm not sure I can do that at this time, but I will let them know they are not the only ones to have experienced something like this. We were very lucky as our boy survived." Booth said his voice thick with emotion. "I can't imagine what they must be going through knowing their son is never coming home again. That's why it's so important Bones and I find Amanda soon. I'm glad you agreed to bring Parker here now as I'm not sure when I'll have another chance to see him until we solve this case."

"That's ok; I understand it was important you were able to see our son at this time. I do have to go back to work, though. Sid promised me he would watch, Parker, until I get off work or bring him home if you and Dr. Brennan have to leave at a moments notice." Rebecca pulled away from Booth and quickly wiped her eyes, however she was not quite fast enough to fool their son.

Parker suddenly noticed the tension in the air and caught sight of his mothers tear streaked face. "Mom, what's wrong? Dad, why's Mom crying?" Parker demanded fearfully.

Booth hastily bent down to pick up his son. "It's ok, bud, I just told Mommy a sad story, but she's going to be fine. I think she could use a big hug and a kiss from you to make it all better. Do you think you can do that for me?" Booth asked his son.

Parker nodded his head yes, his beautiful brown eyes huge with concern as he watched his mother struggling to deal with her emotions. He quickly scrambled out of his fathers arms and hugged his mother while smothering her face with kisses.

"Ok, ok, enough already! Rebecca laughed as she wiped her wet face.

"See I told you all Mommy needed was some special loving from you and she would be just fine," Booth winked at his son as he ruffled his hair.

"Don't, Dad, your messing up my hair." Parker whined as he pushed his fathers hand away. "Look Dad, there's Toby and his family." He pointed out his friend sitting across the dining room at one of the larger booths next to the window. "Can I go and talk to him for a few minutes?"

"I'll see if I can get you a booth next to your friend and his family," Sid said as Parker continued to plead with Booth.

"Ok, Park but only for five minutes. I really want to spend some time with you, buddy. Bones and I must go back to work soon."

Parker could barely contain his excitement as he waited impatiently for his father to finish talking to him. "I promise I'll be right back, I just wanted to ask him if he was going to be at soccer practice tomorrow."

The adults watched him walk away as Rebecca called after him, "I'll see you later Parker, love you."

Parker continued walking as he waved over his shoulder to his mother. "Well, I guess this is what we both get to look forward to from now on, Seeley. Our boy is growing up before our eyes. It won't be long now before he starts telling one or both of us on a regular basis how much he hates us." She sighed. "Thank you Sid. I really appreciate you offering to bring Parker home later."

"It's no problem, he's a good kid, you both should be proud of him."

"Thanks Sid, we are proud of him." Booth and Rebecca said in unison.

"He's the one thing we both can agree that we did right during our relationship." Booth added as he smiled at Rebecca.

"Seeley, call me later and let me know what's going on, and we'll see about making arrangements for another overnight visit." She patted Booth on the arm before turning to his partner.

"Dr. Brennan thanks for calling me today."

"It wasn't that big a deal. I just thought Booth…"

The noise in the dining room had been getting steadily louder as they had continued talking by the door, but suddenly there was a lot of confusion going on at the table with Parker's friend Toby. During a lull in the conversation you could suddenly hear as plain as day, " Eeeewww, gross! Mom, Joey farted! Oh man how could you?!" Then "PU, you stink!" Toby yelled practically at the top of his lungs.

Suddenly the air was filled with wild laughter, the young boys were holding their stomachs as they laughed and watched poor little, Joey's, face flame beet red in embarrassment.

"Toby Aaron Grant, you hush your mouth, right now!" The young boy's mother scolded her son. Joey ran to his mother and sobbed. "I hate you, Toby, you're mean!"

"Shhhh, hush now Joey, Toby didn't mean to hurt your feelings." But really son, next time please make sure you say, "Excuse me, or better yet, if you know that is going to happen ask to leave the table before it does."

Booth, Rebecca, Sid and Brennan looked at one another and within seconds their laughter joined that of the children and the rest of patrons in the restaurant.

"I think I better go have a talk with Parker and Toby, since it looks like Mr. Grant isn't here today. I think the boys need a lesson in better table manners." Booth said as he excused himself from the others, his shoulders still shaking with laughter.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N Wow, hope none of you fall out of your computer chair when you realize I finally added another chapter to this story.  There should be another one on the way shortly. As usual don't forget to read and review. I'm looking forward to hearing lots of reviews from everyone. Hope you all have a happy and safe Halloween

One Moment in Time

Chapter 6

Deep inside the Federal Bureau of Investigations office complex the young FBI psychologist sat at his desk, the shades drawn to shut out the bright sunshine of what should have been a beautiful day. Instead, Dr. Lance Sweets and his co-workers were waiting to speak to three young impressionable teenagers about the abduction of their childhood friends. He was going to be given the unenviable task of informing them that their young friend, Evan Sinclair was dead, killed by their abductor while trying to protect his big sister.

He knew this case was going to be hard for him, but it was not until now that he truly realized he may not have been over what happened to him when he was the same age as Evan and his friends. The only difference was his abuse had happened at the hands of people who were supposed to love and protect him, not beat him when on a bender and sometimes for no reason at all.

It had taken him almost three years of college psychology classes to realize that his father had been both proud and jealous of his young son's early scholastic successes. When he was six years old his first grade teacher, Mrs. Rogers, had finally convinced both of his parents to test his IQ.

Mrs. Rogers had informed them that Lance was learning at such an advanced rate he was always the first one to complete his school assignments, giving him too much time on his hands. As a result he was constantly telling her he was bored and didn't she have something else for him to do. He was always the first one to raise his hand and consistently answer her questions correctly, so much so that she had begun to notice several of the other student's, the boy's especially, beginning to taunt him and call him teachers pet.

Shortly after agreeing to test their son's IQ his parents learned, Lance, was one of a small handful of 'gifted children' and was sent to a private school to ensure he would continue to learn at a pace to suit his abilities. Soon after he began attending the new school, his father and mother had begun to treat him differently. At first he didn't realize what was going on but as time passed and his parents began to feel their son was smarter and more talented than either of them they slowly began trying to emotionally abuse him.

But the worst punishment began once his father began to drown his sorrows in alcohol. His behavior began to get more abusive, especially after he lost his job and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't get hired at another University. Word had begun to get out that his son was going to be the next genius or Pulitzer Prize winning scholar if he continued to speed through college level courses at such a young age.

Professor Sweet's couldn't handle the thought that his son could not only teach his current math and science classes, but could easily have taught several higher level courses that he himself was not qualified to teach. The knowledge that he would have been doing so at the age of thirteen was nearly impossible for him to swallow. Even knowing this, it was not until, Lance, informed his parents that he wanted to begin studying psychology that both his parents lost control of their jealousy and envy of their son's ability to achieve his goals.

You see in the beginning they had both been so proud of their son. Both of them had secretly hoped to find a job working for a company like NASA that would have enabled them to make a name for themselves in their chosen field. However, when their dreams hadn't come true they had expected Lance to fill that gap in their lives. When Lance defied them and wanted to choose his own career it was more than they could take.

His mother chose not to interact with him both on an intellectual and physical level. His father on the other hand became physically violent. Their abuse went on for several years, until the day his father had flown into a drunken rage and began whipping Lance.

Thankfully their neighbor's young son had heard Lance screaming. When the boy went to see what was going on, he discovered Professor Sweet's beating his son with a switch he had made from one of the willow trees in the front yard. The boy ran to his parents for help. By the time the police arrived, Lance's, torn and tattered shirt was soaked in blood.

This is why he had wanted to make sure Agent Booth would allow him to speak with or at least observe the FBI agent questioning Amanda and Evan Sinclair's friends. He knew better than anyone how hard it would be to get the traumatized teens to speak to the authorities. It was possible one of them could unknowingly lead them to whoever was responsible for what had happened to their friends.

The intercom on his office phone squawked, making him jump. "Dr. Sweets, Sally Daniels, Ryan Wilson and Matt Reynolds are here with their parents. You said to let you know before I informed Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan."

Lance took a deep breath, ran his hands through his hair, buttoned his suit jacket and replied, "Thank you, Agent Johnson. Please tell them I'll be right down."

He looked at his watch on his way to the front lobby. Shoot he was going to have to make it quick if he wanted time to feel out Sally, Ryan and Matt before Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan returned.

If he was going to contribute to this investigation he would have to make the most of the next twenty minutes, as this was one case he could not afford to fail. Apparently, everyone on the team seemed to be carrying around some kind of emotional baggage brought on by this case. If the team couldn't find Amanda Sinclair in time, he didn't know what would happen to each of them. _Way to go Lance, nothing like adding more pressure on yourself._

Booth and Brennan were almost to FBI headquarters when his cell phone began to ring. "Booth," he replied while turning the speaker phone on. The connection started to fade in and out before they heard Don's excited voice reply. "Eleesa thinks Rocket's found something you and your team need to see. I wasn't sure that little red Cocker Spaniel was going to turn out to be such a great Search and Rescue dog, but when that merry little dog gets down to business he's one fantastic tracking dog!"

"That's great news, Don, but could you share a few more details? What exactly did Rocket find?" Booth demanded impatiently.

"I'm not really sure, as Eleesa was so pumped up, I didn't catch much, except to call you. She mentioned something about possible foot prints and some kind of material, possibly some kind of outdoor clothing. She called the dog in as soon as she realized someone had been there recently. She didn't want to contaminate the crime scene before your people had a chance to go over the area."

"I'll call the Jeffersonian and inform them to send Hodgin's and Zac out right away."

Brennan leaned forward, her eyes bright with excitement. It was the first time in almost twenty-four-hours since they had received news that had the potential to lead them to Amanda or her abductor.

"Don, we might be a while, we're supposed to be interviewing Amanda and Evan's friends in about ten minutes. I really need to speak to them before we head back out to the crime scene." Booth said as he continued driving.

"Sure, I understand just remember it'll be getting dark in a few hours. We have lights but the area Rocket found the new evidence in is really overgrown with underbrush so it might be difficult to see once the sun starts to go down. I wouldn't want us to miss anything, this guy has already taken one life and we can't let him take another."

Brennan had reached out to grab Booth's arm as Don had been talking. "Booth, Sweet's can talk to Amanda and Evan's friends…" Her partner turned and glared at her while shaking his head 'No'.

"No you're right, Don, we can't afford to miss anything in the next several hours. I'll make this interview short. Those kids have been through a lot and no ones told them yet that Evan has passed away. So I'm not sure how much useful information we'll be able to get from them at this time."

"Hodgin's and Zac should be there before dark as our equipment has been loaded and ready for hours. We'll be there as soon as possible."

Brennan turned the phone off before she demanded, "What is wrong with you!?" I NEED to be out at the crime scene along with Zac and Jack! Why won't you give Sweet's a chance to interview those kids? You and I both know he can handle them, even though we've never told him we really believe in him. He's going to have to assert himself to one or both of us soon or the FBI will be forced to let him go, even though he's more than qualified to do his job. You have to stop intimidating him into backing down from you."

"Bones, you know I'm only behaving this way because I'm trying to teach him to have the courage and conviction to stand up to his superiors when he knows they're wrong. It's the only way I know how to try and teach him to be a man."

"Oh, I just thought you really didn't like him which was why you always seemed to downplay his importance in our cases." Brennan leaned back in her seat her eyes wide open with a somewhat stunned expression. _How had she managed to misread his intentions regarding Sweets? As though she hadn't misjudged her partner on any number of occasions, so why would she think today would be any different?_

Inside the interrogation room Sweet's did his best to put Sally, Ryan, Matt and their

parents at ease. He definitely had to work hard to gain the three teens and their families trust in him. Sometimes he really wished he looked his age, as it would make his professional life so much easier.

He began by informing them what would be asked of each of them. He gently reminded the room at large that whatever the three teens were able to remember of the day their classmates were abducted could very well lead the FBI to their friends. He had wisely decided within the first five minutes of meeting them it would be best not to mention that Evan had already been found dead.

Sally seemed to be the most fragile, as she had been asked to babysit Evan when he was younger because she was two years older than Amanda. Legally, most states will not allow children under the age of ten years of age to stay home alone or to babysit their younger siblings without adult supervision. As a result she had become emotionally attached to both of the Sinclair siblings.

Ryan and Matt were doing pretty well under the circumstances. Sweet's knew if he pushed Sally too hard for the details of that fateful morning, she would probably break down, making it difficult for her to supply any useful information to the case. He knew if she cracked the two pre-teen boys were sure to react badly to her distress.

Sweet's glanced down at his watch to check the time. _Good I have a few more minutes before Booth and Dr. Brennan arrive. _"So Sally, can you tell me everything you remember about the afternoon that Amanda was taken? Specifically, what did you see? Do you recall anything unusual happening that day prior to the time the abduction took place? Was there anyone hanging around you didn't know?"

Sally Daniel's big blue eyes welled up with tears. She grabbed her mother's hand, hanging on to it as though her mother was the only person she could count on to make this nightmare go away.

"Everything is going to be ok, honey. Your father and I are going to be here for you. We talked about how difficult this might be for you. Just pretend like you were telling us about any other day at school. Don't leave out any details, even the simplest thing you think might not mean anything at all, tell Dr. Sweets or Agent Booth and Dr. Brennan when they arrive, let them decide if it's important or not." Mrs. Daniels squeezed her daughter's hand.

She turned to Dr. Sweet's, "My father used to work in law enforcement so I understand what my daughter, Ryan and Matt need to do."

Sweet's nodded at Sally's mom and inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. _Thank God, Mrs. Daniels had made sure to prepare her daughter, Ryan and Matt of the possibility that something terrible may have happened to their friends. Hopefully when it came time to inform them of Evan's death it would not come as a complete shock._

Sally took a shuddering breath and began, "I honestly don't remember seeing anyone who seemed out of place. We only went to the Boys and Girls club after school so I could work on a report that was due in a couple of days. Amanda went with me so when I was done we could play a couple of games of badminton before we went home for the afternoon."

Ryan and Matt suddenly chimed in, "Yeah, they were so into the game they didn't even notice we were standing there watching them play!"

"We were having so much fun and then…" Sally wiped the tears from her eyes.

Matt and Ryan jumped up and walked around the table to try and comfort their friend, "We're going to find them, Sally, everyone's been praying for them." Matt said as the two boys gave her a hug.

"We had to tell them to stop playing or they were going to be locked in all night. Remember, Mr. Martin told us to tell you girls to come back tomorrow and finish your game so the janitors could start cleaning the building." Ryan added.

"I wish we never went there that day, if we hadn't maybe none of this would have happened." Sally lamented under her breath.

Dr. Sweet's patted Sally's hand. "There's something all of you need to understand, it wouldn't have mattered whether you were there that day or not. Whoever this person turns out to be, they were determined to do something bad that day. If you and your friends had not been there at that time, I'm sure if the opportunity had presented it self he would have done the same thing."

The three teens looked at one another, clearly finding his statement hard to comprehend. "Really, do you think so?" Sally asked.

"Yes, I really believe that. Each of you needs to know neither Amanda nor Evan did anything wrong. And neither did any of you. Most people don't feel the need to treat each other in such an inhumane way. Unfortunately the statistics say that once a suspect accused of committing this type of crime is apprehended we find out one of two things about them later. They usually come from an abused home, have experienced some other traumatic event in their lives or are suffering from some type of mental illness."

Mr. Reynolds's grumbled, "Whoever it is they better pray their mentally ill, because if

I run into him first you all will be digging a new hole to bury him after all he has put my son and his friends through in the past four days."

"Dad!" Ryan, gasped, his eyes wide open in shock.

"Now, now don't say something like that here, or you're likely to find yourself spending a night in jail." Sweets said.

Ryan's face paled and his voice cracked with fear as he asked, "What if he tried to kill you, Dad? He pulled a gun on Evan when he tried to help Amanda. Swear to me you won't go looking for him!" Ryan pleaded.

At Ryan's plea the roomed erupted in chaos as everyone began speaking at once. After a few minutes Sweet's pursed his lips and whistled shrilly. Instantly the room went silent as all eye's turned to him, "Mr. Reynolds's please sit down, you're not only upsetting your son but everyone else in this room."

Mr. Reynolds's returned to his seat. Sweet's said, "I want all of you to close your eyes, take a couple of deep breaths and relax, now exhale and take another deep breath, hold it… ok exhale again."

A few minutes later Sweets felt most of the tension leave the room. "Now, you can all open your eyes. From this moment on I only want Sally to speak. Ryan and Matt if you have something to add that can't wait until I'm through questioning Sally, please raise your hand and wait until I ask you to continue."

He turned back to Sally and asked, "So, what happened once you all left the building? Were you all going to walk home together?"

Sally began shaking her head 'no'. At first we were but Amanda said she was going to get a drink from the water fountain. She said she would be right back…"

Two sets of hands shot up in the air. Sweets held his hand up signaling the boys to wait, "What did you see Sally?"

"At first I wasn't watching her as Matt and Ryan…"

The two boys couldn't wait for permission to speak. They said in unison, "Dr. Sweet's we were horsing around and accidently bumped into Sally and knocked all her school books on the ground."

Sally continued, "I was so mad I could have spit nails! I'd just finished writing my report, all I had to do was type it up and then I could have turned it in early. Instead these two clowns had all of my papers blowing in the wind! I don't know why I thought it was so important since I always wait until the last minute to finish my assignments."

"Man, you were so mad at us, I thought your head was going to explode!" Matt said his brown eyes sparkling with mischief. "Yeah, you were yelling at Evan to stop daydreaming and help the rest of us."

"I know, I think about that every night when I go to bed. I think Evan saw the person who took them, or he just sensed something was wrong with, Amanda, as it seemed to be taking her forever to return."

Ryan continued, "I remember him calling to her because some guy was talking to her, but she was trying to avoid him. Each time he stepped towards her she backed away from him. At one point he reached out to take her hand and she jerked away from him."

"By then Evan was running towards them and yelling at the man, "Leave my sister alone! I said get away from my sister!" Matt explained. "Amanda tried to tell him to stay away. Evan screamed at her to run when he realized the man was distracted by his interference. Instead she turned to face him as Evan continued running across the parking lot."

"That's when he slapped her in the face really, really hard! Sally's voiced cracked but she continued on bravely, "I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of his open palm hitting her left cheek and then watching her head jerk back before she fell forward right into his open arms. I'm sure he knocked her out as her arms and legs were just hanging limply as he turned and shoved her into the backseat. He'd just made it into the driver's seat when Evan reached them."

Sally hesitated for a second and Ryan jumped in, "The guy put the car in reverse and Evan went crazy when he started to back up, he was pounding on the window and screaming at Amanda to wakeup. By then the guy must have decided he'd had enough. He stopped the car and pressed a gun to Evan's forehead. He said, "Fine you want to stay with your sister get your…um…um…he said you know get your butt, I mean your rear end in the car, boy!"

By now the young man's face was flushed with embarrassment. He bent his head down, his eyes staring at his shifting feet under the interrogation table. "I'm sorry mom/dad I know I'm not allowed to say any cuss words, but that was what he said, but with an A double S."

"It's ok son. This time you're getting a pass," his father said, as he ruffled his son's hair and patted his shoulder affectionately. He wondered if it was wrong of him or a sin to be thanking God that it wasn't he and his family wondering what happened to his son and daughter. He honestly didn't know how the Sinclair's were keeping it together. After the past four and half days he couldn't imagine living the life they now found themselves in.

"Do any of you remember what kind of car the man was driving?" Sweets asked.

On their way upstairs Agent Johnson had informed them that Dr. Sweets had been down and taken the three teens and their parents up to the interrogation room. At first Booth had been a bit annoyed that Johnson hadn't given him a courtesy call confirming that Sweets was allowed to speak with the teens alone. Brennan had intervened and reminded him of their earlier conversation and said, "Now was as good a time as any for Dr. Sweet's to get his shoes wet…"

Booth just shook his head and gently corrected her, "Um, its get his feet wet, Bones."

"Well whatever you know what I meant." As they continued walking down the hallway, suddenly a loud commotion erupted at the front entrance of the FBI building. As the two turned around to see what was going on they could see Annette Mitchelson trying to push and shove her way through security. When Annette realized Booth and Brennan were only several hundred feet away she began to struggle harder to reach them.

"Agent Booth, I need to speak to you right away! Richard and I saw a yellow a car at the park! As the security guard struggled with her she beseeched him, "Get off of me! Please I need to tell them about Evan and Amanda Sinclair!"

Booth and Brennan quickly made their way back to security. "It's ok Agent Johnson, Annette and Richard discovered Evan's body at Gambrill State Park. The agent immediately released the harried young woman and began to apologize.

"That's ok I understand you're just doing your job. I'm sorry too for causing you any undue stress."

The Mitchelson's followed Booth and Brennan to Booth's office where he pulled up a couple of chairs and asked them to sit down.

Richard spoke first, "We just wanted to say how truly sorry we are that we didn't remember until about an hour ago that we had seen something odd the morning we discovered Evan's remains. I guess in all of the excitement we completely forgot about this bright yellow car that was the only car parked in the lot at the time. I remembered as it looked like someone had spent a lot of time and money fixing it all up. You see it was a 69 Chevy Nova, with all leather seats, chrome wheels and custom made flames painted on the hood with one of those chrome cowl hoods.

Annette added, "We've been arguing ever since about whether or not the license plate was issued here in DC or if it had Virginia plates. At first we weren't sure the car even had one then we started fighting about whether the plate was on the front or back of the vehicle. Honestly, it seems the only thing we can agree on is the color, the year and make of the vehicle. My younger brother would have said "Dude, that's what I call one sweet ride!"

Richard added, "I don't know if any of this will help you catch whoever did this to Evan and his sister, but we would like to hope so anyway."

As the Mitchelson's had been talking Booth had been furiously writing notes to use later. "Well, at the moment I don't know either, but it's more than we have to work with so far. Right now that is all I can say. If either of you remember anything else you know how to reach us."

Booth opened his door and motioned for one of his co-workers, "Charlie, can you show the Mitchelson's out? Dr. Brennan and I are running late…"

Meanwhile Booth and Brennan had made it to the room with the one way mirror and had been watching Sweet's question the three teenagers under the watchful eyes of three sets of clearly worried adults. They could see the parents underlying pride in their children's willingness to tell their most harrowing life experience to date to a complete stranger.

Booth leaned closer to the one way mirror as Sweet's asked the three teens, "Do any of you know what kind of car the man was driving?"

Sally said, "I don't know much about cars, but it was bright yellow with some kind of shiny wheels…I think my brother calls them chrome?" She shrugged her shoulders, "Man I wish I paid more attention to my brother when he starts going on so about the make and models of cars, maybe I'd be more useful!?"

"That's ok Sally, I think it's a 68 or 69 Chevy Nova. That sound's about right doesn't it, Ryan?"

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Warning for slightly sensitive subject matter. Nothing to graphic written but some may be uncomfortable reading. This is a case fic, with a serial killer who does have some issues with his treatment of women. It is written within the guidelines of the forums rules.

I have noticed recently that either a lot of my secret closet readers are rereading my previous stories or there a lot of new members to the fanfic site as I have had several hundred visitors but hardly anyone is sending me reviews. :) So please all of you secret closest readers let me know if you want me to finish this story or if you are just enjoying rereading my previous writings. Either way I would still love to hear from more of you as it has been a while since many have commented. Are you still interested in learning the fate of Amanda, Brennan and her ongoing family issues? If so please let me know you want me to finish this story?

Lisa

One Moment in Time

Chapter 7

Booth had been intently watching Dr. Sweet's interview the three teens for several minutes, before Brennan began to notice his attitude change from avid curiosity to annoyance. His facial expressions ran the gamut from excitement to total disgust. "Booth, what's wrong?" Brennan asked softly.

Her partner turned to look at her for just a moment before turning his attention back to the one way mirror. He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, "Can't you see all three of them are hiding something? Look at them they can't keep eye contact with Sweet's for more than a couple of seconds. They're either looking at their hands or they keep eyeing each other surreptitiously. I think they know something about Amanda, something they're afraid to tell us."

"Really, like what?" Brennan asked.

Suddenly Booth pushed past her on his way out the door.

"Booth, where are you going? I thought you were going to let Sweet's question them?" Brennan sighed and shrugged her shoulders in resignation. She turned back to the one way mirror in time to hear Ryan reply to Matt's question about the car they saw the day Evan and Amanda were abducted.

"Yeah, I'm not a hundred percent sure on the year as we were across the parking lot and we were looking directly into the sun. When we realized Evan was acting weird, I had to

shade my eyes because they were watering so I almost couldn't see anything. We started running to the car when Evan started screaming, but the guy was already driving away. I still don't understand why he took them? Ryan said angrily.

Booth opened the door and slammed it behind him, startling the room at large, as he demanded, "All right, I don't have time to mess around with the three of you, so one of you had better start telling me the truth!"

Booth paused for a moment as he scanned the room before turning his attention to Sally Daniels. He'd noticed immediately that she dropped her head, avoiding direct eye contact with him when he'd locked eyes with her. He walked over to her and pulled up one of the folding chairs and sat down in front of her.

When Sally tried to avoid looking at him again, he gently tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him, as he asked her again, "So who was Amanda seeing?"

Sally gasped, her face paled and her beautiful blue eyes once again began to well up with tears as she choked out breathlessly, "What…what do you mean who was she seeing? She wasn't, I swear…"

When Booth didn't say anything she tried to pull away from him, when he refused to let her go and continued to stare her down she began to fidget in earnest. She tried to turn to her parents and when Booth refused to let her she began to whine, "Mom…Dad… make him stop, I'm telling you Amanda wasn't seeing anyone…"

Suddenly Booth jumped to his feet, causing the metal chair he had previously been using to go sliding across the floor with an ear splitting screech, which was quickly followed by an angry oath. He turned his anger and frustration on the two young men, "Really, are you two boys telling me that Sally is telling us the truth, that Amanda wasn't dating anyone?"

Ryan and Matt turned and looked at one another once again, and this time Booth totally lost it. He stopped and took a deep breath before he began again, "Look, I don't know what kind of game the three of you are playing, but I'm telling you now, this is not the time to be screwing around."

By now three sets of parents were beginning to get pretty angry about the way Booth was questioning their children. Mr. Daniels and Mr. Williams both jumped up when Booth began to get into their children's personal space.

"Agent Booth, I think it's time I take my daughter home if this is the way you plan on getting information from her." Mr. Daniels said as he stepped between his daughter and Booth. For just a moment the two men were nearly nose to nose.

Sweets decided it was time to jump in before things got any more out of hand. "Please, why don't we all take a break for a couple of minutes? I think it might be better if all the adults left the room for a while."

Dr. Sweets began to gently move everyone towards the door and as the adults walked out of the interrogation room ahead of him he added, "Why don't you all go out to the waiting room, there's a vending machine with sodas and snack foods. I think the children will feel more comfortable if they are able to speak to Agent Booth alone."

"What? No way. Not unless we're in the room with them." Sally's Mom said.

"I'm sorry but I can't allow you too…" Mrs. Daniels angrily began shaking her head no. "Wait, I didn't mean you couldn't watch them, just not in the same room. If you will follow me, I'll allow all of you to observe Agent Booth and his partner questioning your children via a one way mirror into our interrogation room."

Again the teen's parents began to argue with Dr. Sweets. "Look, I agree with Agent Booth, I think your children know something which might help us find, Amanda, and right now the quickest way we can get them to speak freely is if they think their parents aren't going to know what they tell us."

As the adults filed into the room next door to their children, Dr. Brennan nodded at Sweets on her way out the door. When she entered the interrogation room Booth turned to her as she closed the door behind her. They made eye contact for just a moment before he winked and nodded his head in approval.

Sally Daniels was still seated at the table, her face damp with tears as she continued to wring her hands. She was shaking a little. Ryan and Matt had returned to her side, each of them trying to give her an awkward hug. Brennan pulled up a chair across the table from her and sat down. She reached across the table and gently stroked Sally's hand as she began to speak softly to her.

The two boys began to get a bit uncomfortable with all of the emotional tension in the room and soon backed away from Sally and Brennan. When the young girl seemed to relax Brennan asked softly, "When did Amanda and Eric stop seeing each other?"

"Oh…my…God! How did you…who told you?" Sally choked the words out breathlessly.

"I didn't know, until now. You just confirmed my suspicions by your behavior."

"Wait, that's not what I meant…" Sally said her voice shaking.

"But Amanda was dating an older man, wasn't she?" Brennan persisted.

"Oh God, I swore I wouldn't tell! You have to believe me, Amanda, made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone…"

"Sally who is he? Did she tell you his name? How old is he?" Brennan demanded.

"I don't know, she wouldn't tell me his name, just that he was going to college this fall."

"Did she tell you what college?" Booth asked. "Did you see him, what did he look like?"

Sally turned back to Brennan and said, "I honestly don't know, they were only seeing each other for a couple of weeks but, Amanda, saw him kissing another girl and she totally freaked out."

"When?" Booth asked again.

"Just before she and Evan disappeared. They got into a huge fight and he told her he was going to ask another girl to the Spring Dance."

Ryan said, "I saw them that day, they were standing out in the parking lot at the high school, but they didn't see me. He was yelling at her and at one point I thought he might hit her. They argued for a long time. Amanda was really mad; she told him the girl he was kissing had been sleeping around."

Matt recounted, "Why else do you think I'm seeing her?" he'd sneered and then he yelled at her to shut up. He told her if she didn't grow up and stop talking smack he would teach her a lesson."

"What day was this? I take it this all happened the same day and you two boys were watching the entire confrontation? Booth questioned.

The two boys looked at one another before turning to Booth and nodding their heads yes. "You all agree that this young man is no longer attending high school? Do you know if he drove to the school that day? Did you boys see him leave?"

"Amanda said he'd graduated a couple of years ago. I never saw him. Did either of you guys recognize him?" Sally asked hopefully.

"No, he wasn't a student, he was too old." "He was pretty tall though, he had dark brown hair, and he was wearing jeans and a t-shirt." Ryan replied slowly, his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried to recall what the young man looked like.

"He looked like he worked out a lot, the veins and muscles in his arms were amazing," Matt added enviously.

"Yeah, you're right he had huge biceps. I thought he was going to hit Amanda, but he walked away from her and beat the heck out of the tether ball instead. After that he stomped off to the parking lot…" Suddenly Ryan's face paled and then flushed with excitement. "Matt didn't he get into a yellow Chevy Nova?"

Matt hesitated for just a moment before agreeing with Ryan. "Do you think he could have taken Amanda and Evan?" he asked Booth, is warm brown eyes suddenly full of fear and horror.

"I don't know, Matt." Booth said as he touched the young boys shoulder gently. "Did this man's t-shirt have anything written on it or did it have some kind of logo? Did the car have any decals in the windows or a bumper sticker?

"I don't remember any bumper stickers or any window emblems. Didn't the t-shirt he was wearing have a bulldog on the front?" Matt asked Ryan.

"Hey, I remember now didn't the bulldog have a spiked collar around its neck too? Do you remember if it said anything, Matt?" Ryan asked eagerly.

Sally suddenly perked up and wondered aloud, "If Amanda was telling me the truth and he was going to college maybe the t-shirt's from Georgetown University, isn't their school mascot a bulldog?"

"It could have been, Georgetown's mascot is a Bulldog, but there are several other schools in DC and the surrounding area that also have a bulldog as a mascot. We'll look into that. Is there any other information you can remember at this time?"

The three teens looked at each other before they said in unison, "I think that's everything."

"Dr. Brennan and I would like to thank you all for being brave enough to come and tell us your story. We understand how difficult this was for each of you." Booth reached into his jacket and pulled out several of his business cards and handed them to the three teens as did his partner.

"If any of you should remember anything else you think might be important be sure and give one of us a call, please no matter what time of the day or night. We'd like you to stay here for a few minutes as Dr. Sweets and your parents need to speak to each of you for a few minutes." Booth informed them as he and Brennan exited the room.

Booth had been quickly jotting down the three teen's statements and adding his own notations in his notebook. Finally they were getting something useful. He and Brennan wouldn't have time to check out the Mitchelson's and the three teens leads on the Chevy Nova so he would have to hand that part of the investigation over to Charlie and a few of the other Junior FBI agents as they were way past due to meet Don and Elisa at the crime scene.

Several hours had passed before Amanda found the courage to take a better inventory of her surroundings. When she finally calmed down enough to think rationally she was thanking God for allowing her the time to see what she might use to save herself. By now it was apparent no one was looking for her, or if they were they were to far away to help her.

Thankfully when _he _came back he'd turned on the only light source, a single one hundred watt light bulb. Now she took a good look around the small cell. The cot she was laying on and currently chained too was located on the far wall, a small table sat next to the cot, upon which was a small battery operated radio and a miniature five inch TV. _Do I dare turn the radio on? _She wondered _What if he wakes up, what would he do to her?_

The few times Amanda had stood up, he had instantly awakened and threatened to hit her again if she didn't quit disturbing him up with all of her fidgeting around. As a result whenever she needed to stretch or get up she'd very slowly and gently lifted her shackles off the floor before attempting to move.

To Amanda's horror it appeared the stockpile of supplies her abductor had gathered meant he planned to keep her hidden here indefinitely. The shelves she'd discovered earlier in the dark were stuffed to full capacity with enough canned goods, instant boxed foods, water and kitchen supplies to last for weeks. Her heart sank at the prospect of spending one more day, let alone weeks or God forbid months with this person.

The longer they were stuck together in such close proximity the greater the chances were that _he _would continue to beat her, possibly rape and ultimately kill her, as he had already proved to her when he attacked and killed her beloved younger brother.

Amanda returned to the cot, where she lay trembling with fear, or maybe it had more to do with the damp, chill air circulating in this dank dirt filled room. To keep her mind from being overtaken by her fear, the young resilient teenager began to plot her best

means of escape. Her mind was filled with these images as she watched her abductor continue to snore loudly, not realizing how greatly he'd miscalculated Amanda's will to survive, no matter how long she might have to wait for the perfect opportunity to escape.

Most of the time, Amanda, thought her kidnapper was sleeping, in reality he was dreaming about what he was going to do to her. Nothing gave him more of a thrill than when he was inflicting physical pain on his victim. He felt more powerful, mentally superior, and sexually satisfied when his victims first fought him, then begged and pleaded with him to spare their worthless lives. Halfway through one such fantasy _he _was subconsciously surprised to find himself dreaming of Dr. Brennan instead of Amanda.

_He,_ who always looked for and sought out the most innocent, or some might say, virginal victims, left her tormentor smiling as he continued to fantasize about the gifted and sexy anthropologist. He couldn't wait to engage in a scholarly war with the brilliant doctor. The best part though was unlike his usual young and sexually inexperienced victims he was certain the famous author and anthropologist could satisfy _all _of his depraved and erotic fantasies. He began to moan in his sleep as his body became aroused seeking relief even in his dreams.

At first, Amanda, didn't hear her abductors moans, the roar from outside their small enclosure nearly spared her the added torment of her fully aroused captor, but not quite. She had dated off and on in the past year, nothing to serious, but anyone who's watched cable TV or a romantic movie knows when someone isn't just moaning about a bad or scary dream, there's a big difference in ones body language. She knew before her tormentor awoke and turned his desires on her she would have to distract him to keep herself safe.

Long ago as _he _slept on, Amanda had worked to free herself of the disgusting cloth rag he'd stuffed in her mouth and tied around her head. Now she jumped up and began to yell, "Oh God, I'm going to be sick! Mister wake up, I'm going to throw up!" It wasn't a total lie she thought, as she was truly sick to her stomach with fear. She prayed this would be the best way to guarantee her captor wouldn't molest her.

"What…umm…you're going to throw up?" he gasped groggily. He jumped up clumsily, his head still swimming in a fog of sleep and sexually explicit dreams. Somehow he got his feet tangled up in the legs of the chair as, Amanda, watched him topple to the dirt floor. _Yes, serves you right you sick pervert! _Her captor quickly scrambled up cursing the entire time as he grabbed a five gallon bucket, which Amanda had not seen at the foot of her cot.

"Here," he said as he shoved the bucket at her. He turned away from her mumbling the whole time about not wanting to be in the same space as she was if she was going to be sick.

He grabbed the small folding step stool, which he quickly climbed up, scurrying to open the trap door allowing him to escape into the open air. He slammed the trap door shut, locking it behind him and leaving, Amanda, staring in shock at the five gallon bucket at her feet.

_Was it really that easy to get rid of him?_ Apparently so, as some time had passed and there was still no sign indicating her abductor planned to return. _ If I'd known that, I would have pulled that stunt sooner._ Just to be certain she was truly alone she began yelling for help, even daring to bang on a cooking pot, with a metal spatula, she had found on the shelf. Only when there was no response to all of the noise she was making did Amanda turn the radio on hoping to hear that the police were actually searching for her.

"Come on, what's wrong with you! Why won't you work?" Amanda cried out, as she banged the radio with her hand. When that didn't do anything to make the reception better, she picked it up and bounced it up and down. "You stupid machine! Isn't that just great, now I suppose the TV won't work either," she grumbled before turning the television on. Surprisingly enough, there was a sporadic picture, mixed with intermittent snow and static.

"Yes! Come on, you can do it!" Amanda crooned as she turned the single antenna from side to side. Finally the picture came in crystal clear, of course right in the middle of a commercial. As Amanda frantically began turning channels she kept glancing over her shoulder, expecting her captor to reappear at any moment.

After several minutes of channel surfing a ticker tape message appeared in the middle of the screen, announcing a breaking news story. Amanda watched in fascination as the national reporter from one of the bigger news stations began to talk about the abduction of Evan and Amanda Sinclair. Her heart sank as the reporter confirmed that Evan was deceased. Only when she saw the photo of Evan and herself did she truly believe her brother was gone.

The newsman continued to report that both the local Washington, DC police and the FBI were actively searching for Amanda. They even cut to several scenes of the Search and Rescue handlers and their dogs, searching Gambrill State Park. _Is it really possible! _As

she continued watching, the reporter concluded his story with a short clip of both her parents pleading for her captor to release their daughter, unharmed.

Amanda sank to her knees as she reached out to stroke her fingers over the image of her parents, her hands trembling with fear, with a new resolve not to stop fighting until she gained her freedom. The tears began to slowly slide down her cheeks. If they were searching for her at Gambrill State Park that meant she knew where she was being held!

_Why didn't I put it together sooner! _The constant rumbling and thunderous roaring she'd been hearing must be coming from Cunningham Falls or McAfee Falls as the locals called the seventy-eight foot drop waterfall. The falls could be accessed by using the Catoctin Trail, which could be reached from either Gambrill State Park or Cunningham Falls State Park.

Now all Amanda needed to do was find a way to contact her parents so she could let them know where to look for her. As she turned to face her only means of escape she noticed the small black object lying on the desk. _Was it a cell phone? _Amanda rubbed her eyes thinking it was only wishful thinking that her tormentor could have been dumb enough to give her a means of escape.

She grabbed the phone off the desk and turned it on. She prayed for it to have a signal, so she could call for help. She stared at the small screen willing the little bars to appear. The words NO SIGNAL appeared. "NOOOOOOOO!" She screamed angrily as she pounded her fists on the desk in frustration and despair.

TBC


End file.
